The Heart Of The Matter
by Kara Sullivan
Summary: Blair collapses on the way to the station.
1. Chapter 1

**_Title: Heart of the Matter_**

**_Summary: Blair collapses on the way to the station_**

**_Disclaimer: The boys are not mine, and I am making no profit from this effort. It's just for fun and enjoyment._**

**_A/N: There are two things that you need to know about this story. First, this is NOT completed yet. It is the first actual WIP I have posted here. While a form of this story was originally posted on SentinelAngst, it was not the complete version, as I am still working on that! I am hoping to get a chapter up at least once a week, but it will not be going up as quickly as Beneath the Surface and Frozen Assets did. Second, there will be spoilers here for numerous episodes. I will try to put which episodes at the beginning of the chapters, but for right now, just know that there are multiple episodes involved. _**

**_So here we go..._**

September 1994

The knock on the door was a welcome relief to the young man sitting behind his desk in the cramped, cluttered office. Settling his glasses more firmly on his face, Blair Sandburg looked up expectantly. "Door's open!"

He smiled widely when he spotted the petite brunette standing there. "Hey Angie!" Then his smile dipped a bit as he rubbed at a sore spot on his neck.

Angie Lorenzo, a friend and fellow TA at Rainier University, returned his smile, hazel eyes sparkling. "I haven't seen you in awhile and I was over here in your neck of the woods, so to speak, so I thought I'd stop in. Got a few minutes?"

"Oh, sure!" Blair indicated the only empty chair in his office. "Have a seat! I was afraid you were another one of my Anthro 101 students stopping by with some lame excuse for why they need an extension on this paper." He gestured at the papers strewn haphazardly across his desk. "I've been grading these things for hours and I feel like I'm not getting anywhere."

Angie's smile softened in sympathy. "Oh, I feel for you. I was there myself last week with my Bio 101 classes. If it's any consolation, I got through it."

Blair smiled again, then grimaced. He rubbed again at the sore spot on his neck. It felt as though all of the muscles in his neck and shoulders had revolted at once. Probably from sitting too long. "Yeah, that's encouraging."

Angie crossed the room, concern darkening her eyes. "Are you okay? Maybe I could help you loosen up?"

Blair looked up, waggling his eyebrows suggestively at her. "I'm sure you could......."

Angie slapped at his shoulder playfully, giggling. "No, I'm serious. Here, lean back." She circled around behind his chair and began to massage his shoulders.

"Oh, wow! That feels great already!" Blair closed his eyes and leaned into the massage. "Where were you a half an hour ago?"

Angie squeezed his shoulders, making him yelp. "Don't complain. Just be grateful I'm here now. I could always find an elsewhere to be....."

"No, no, that's okay. I'm _so_ not ready for you to quit what you're doing!" Blair smiled again, finally relaxing as the firm massage began to break up some of the burning pain he had been feeling through his neck and shoulders.

As the massage continued, the overworked TA began to relax so completely that he dozed off. "Hey, are you still awake?" The voice made him jump, just on the edge of a deep sleep.

"Yeah, I'm awake. Thanks a lot, Angie. I feel great now!"

"Well, I'm not done yet." Blair opened his eyes to find Angie standing there with a steaming towel in her hands. "I want you to be awake for this so you can tell me if it's too hot, okay?"

"Where did you come up with a towel?" Blair eyed the towel longingly. Heat. He could never seem to get enough heat.

Angie returned to her position behind him and carefully wrapped the steaming towel around his neck, tucking it into his shirt beneath his chin. "I found it in the faculty lounge. How does that feel?"

Blair moaned in ecstasy at the warmth flooding through him from the neck down. "Oh I could really get into this." He closed his eyes again.

"Feeling better?" He mutely nodded his assent and heard her giggle again. "Well, I have to go now. It was great seeing you, Blair. Maybe we could......you know.......go out sometime soon?"

"Sounds great. Thanks again, Angie!" Blair kept his eyes closed, reveling in the feel of the heat against his abused muscles. He barely registered the snick of the door closing when Angie left. He was too focused on relaxing to care too much at the time.

He had nearly fallen asleep again when he noticed something out of the ordinary. Jerking in his chair, he opened bleary eyes and struggled to figure out what had changed. The towel had fallen open and was drooping off his left shoulder, and the heat had changed to an uncomfortable chilly dampness. Lifting the towel the rest of the way off his neck, he dropped it carelessly to the floor.

What was wrong? Suddenly he realized-- it was his heart. It had started to pound fiercely enough that he almost thought he should be able to see and hear the pumping. When had that happened? Apparently while the hot towel was wrapped around his neck. He shrugged languorously. Yup. Still relaxed. The extra hard pounding of his heart was probably from the heat of the towel. He had experienced similar feelings before and they had always gone away. He looked at his watch.

_Oh, man! Jim is going to kill me! I totally forgot I told him I'd meet him at the station at three!_ He looked down at his attire. His shirt front was now drenched from the hot towel, and he imagined the back was no better. _Oh, great. Now I'll have to take more time to go home and change!_

He jumped up from his chair, almost overbalancing on a wave of dizziness, then caught himself and headed for his Corvair. He needed to hurry. He couldn't afford to have Jim get upset with him and drop him as an observer. He needed Jim for his thesis, and he was pretty sure he had been able to help Jim somewhat with his heightened senses. But Simon Banks, Jim's captain, didn't seem to like Blair, and the young man was sure that it wouldn't take much for his observer's credentials to be revoked - like being incredibly late.

All the way home, Blair noticed the strange pounding of his heart. He could feel his pulse in the strangest places. If he looked closely, he could even see his long hair swinging in rhythm with the beat. For some strange reason it didn't seem to be going away this time. He shrugged, pulling the Corvair up in front of the warehouse he was currently calling home.

Opening the door, he climbed out and stood up, staggering as he was hit by another wave of dizziness. _I don't have time for this!_ He quickly entered his apartment and changed his shirt, feeling the need to sit down several times during this simple activity. _Oh, man! I probably have the flu. Well, I don't have time to deal with it!_ He grabbed his backpack and headed back outside to his car.

He discovered that his equilibrium was the worst when he was standing up, and as long as he stayed seated, he felt pretty good. That meant he would have no problem driving to the station. Taking deep breaths to center himself, just in case he was having a panic attack, he quickly drove to the police station. He didn't think he would make it walking from his typical parking space down the street from the station, but he found an opening in the visitor's lot that was fairly close to the door. Since he wasn't planning to stay long, he only felt a small twinge of guilt at taking the space.

Blair turned off the engine and removed the keys, taking one more deep breath. Now all he had to do was get into the building, make it up to the seventh floor and find Jim--without tipping over. He opened the door and climbed out again, straightening up more slowly this time. He looked up as a car drove by him and found himself smiling and waving to Captain Joel Taggart of the bomb squad.

Joel waved back and continued on his way. Once he was gone, Blair let go of the death grip he had on the door handle to hold himself up, and took two steps around the back of the car. The next thing he was aware of was the pavement coming up to meet his face.

He was sprawled inelegantly on the ground, his backpack lying beside him. He looked around furtively to see if anyone had noticed his swan dive. Then he pushed himself to his knees and crawled back to the car door. He opened the door and dragged himself back inside. Now what? How was he supposed to let Jim know he was here? If only he could afford a cell phone like all the detectives carried, he could call for help. But the lot was deserted. He put his head back, closing his eyes wearily.

"Hello? Are you okay?"

Blair looked up in surprise at the uniformed police officer standing beside his car. She opened the door cautiously, studying him in concern. When he was silent, she repeated in a louder voice, "Are you okay? Do you need help?"

"Uh, yeah, I guess I do." Blair blushed, not liking this feeling of helplessness. "I guess I'm not feeling very well. How did you know? I thought the parking lot was deserted."

She smiled, pointing at the video camera mounted at the edge of the lot. "I saw you fall on the videotape. What's wrong? What can I do to help you?"

Blair sighed. He knew this was going to be embarrassing. Focusing on the name printed above her pocket, he steeled himself. "Officer Sheridan, I'd appreciate it if you could contact Detective Ellison in Major Crimes for me. Could you tell him that Blair Sandburg is down here?"

"Sure thing, Honey. You just take it easy." Officer Sheridan spoke into the transmitter clipped to her breast pocket. "Jason, call up to Major Crimes and tell Ellison there's a Blair Sandburg down here that doesn't look too good, will you?" She turned back to Blair with a reassuring smile and laid the back of her hand against Blair's forehead. "Do you think it's the flu? You don't really feel warm."

"I'm _never_ warm," Blair muttered, leaning his head back against the seat to wait for his partner.

"Sandburg?" Jim's concerned voice coming from just beside him made Blair jump. He opened his eyes and looked into his partner's worried face. "What's going on, Buddy?" His voice was soft and gentle, which scared Blair more than if he had snapped at him for being late.

The young man cleared his throat nervously. "I don't know. A friend of mine gave me a massage this afternoon and then wrapped a hot towel around my neck. My heart started beating extra hard, and I've been getting more and more dizzy ever since." He laughed uneasily. "Probably the flu or something. Anyway, I tried to get out of the car and fell. Guess it was a good thing you guys have those video cameras. Officer Sheridan saw me and came out to help." He looked beyond his partner and saw to his surprise that not only was Officer Sheridan still there, there were several other people there as well.

"Chief, do you have any idea why your heart is racing?" Jim's voice remained soft and gentle, and Blair suddenly realized that his partner was scared.

"I....I didn't know it was! It's pounding really hard, but it doesn't feel any faster than usual." He looked up at Jim quizzically.

"Trust me--it's racing!" Jim looked grimly at Blair. "Your pulse is running about 150 right now. I'm going to step back for a minute here and let the medics take a look, okay?"

"Yeah, sure!" Blair felt his heart rate increase even as he willed it to slow down. He swallowed hard as two uniformed medics crowded in beside him, one on either side. He was still in a fog, wondering what was causing this strange reaction, when he felt a cold tube against his face and then felt a hiss as cold oxygen began to flow into his nostrils.

He hadn't realized until that moment that he was having difficulty breathing, but he felt better already. Looking down, he noticed that one of the medics was trying to start an IV on the back of his left hand.

"I can't get a vein over here. How about you?" The medic looked at his partner.

Blair felt his other hand being lifted, and then a sharp prick brought him out of the fog he had drifted into. He looked down, irritated by the nasal canula that had been strapped to his face, but grateful for the flow of oxygen. The paramedic on his right had started an IV and was taping the tubing down to Blair's arm. His clean shirt was hanging open, and there were wires taped to his chest. A pressure on his left arm made him look down to see a blood pressure cuff inflating itself around his bicep.

"What's wrong?" His voice came out in a funny croak, not sounding like him at all.

"We're not sure yet. But don't worry, Chief. They're taking good care of you!" Jim's reassuring voice came from behind the medic to Blair's left, and he instinctively looked up at his partner.

"I think I have the flu." His voice was still shaky, but he sounded a little more like himself. "I should probably just go home and sleep it off, right, Jim?"

"Sorry, Mr. Sandburg. We think it would be better if we take you over to the hospital first. Your heart rate is elevated quite a bit, and your blood pressure is really high right now, too. We need to find out why." The medic on the left spoke soothingly, but Blair wasn't really listening.

He was trying to remember the man's name. He knew that the medic had told him while he had been out of it, and he couldn't keep calling him the medic on the left. "What's your name?" he rasped.

"John. My name is John, Mr. Sandburg. And that's my partner, Tim, on your other side. Do you think you can stand up if we help you? We need to get you to that stretcher over there." He gestured toward a third medic who was standing beside a stretcher. "I know that in the movies the medics are always carrying people around, but we prefer not to." He grinned and Blair found himself grinning back.

"Sure, I can stand up. As long as I have something to hold onto." He carefully pushed to his feet, clinging to John's hand. He felt Jim holding him up under his arms, and Tim crawled through the car and climbed out after him, holding his other hand. He had barely gotten to his feet when the dizziness returned.

"Okay, his pulse and BP just shot up. Let's get him down quick." John looked up at the other two men and they quickly lifted Blair up and onto the stretcher. "Well, I guess we should have carried you after all!" He smiled at Blair reassuringly, but his tone was grave. "Let's get over to Cascade General, okay, guys?"

Blair was strapped onto the stretcher, along with the heart monitor and the automatic BP machine. The oxygen tank was tucked under the blankets beside him, and the medics tilted the head of the stretcher up until he was almost sitting. There was a brief moment of disorientation as the stretcher was lifted up into the back of the ambulance, then John and Tim climbed in beside him and began to shut the doors.

Jim poked his head in the door. "I'll meet you over there, Chief. Uh..is there anyone I should call for you?"

Blair shrugged, finding this entire episode humiliating. There was nothing quite like being surrounded by people in uniform _and_ your partner while you were flat on your back on a stretcher, hooked up to all sorts of medical paraphernalia. "No, there's just my mom, and you'd never be able to find her. She's out of the country."

"Okay, well you hang in there, okay? I'll see you soon." Blair felt a hand squeeze his ankle gently, and then the doors closed.

_**To be continued...**_

**_So there's the first chapter. I will have chapter two up at least by next Monday, but it might be a little sooner. Thanks for reading! Please review and let me know what you think. _**


	2. Chapter 2

**_Thank you so much for the wonderful reviews! You are all awesome! Here is chapter 2..... No spoilers in this one._**

The trip to Cascade General seemed to take forever, although Blair knew it was only a short distance from the police station. John and Tim spent most of the trip busily checking the readings from the heart monitor and the automatic BP cuff.

"Have you ever ridden in an ambulance before, Mr. Sandburg?" John picked up Blair's wrist and checked his pulse once again, staring intently at his watch.

"No. Never."

"Kind of exciting, huh?" John put Blair's arm back down with a slight frown and turned his attention back to the blood pressure readout then looked back at the heart monitor.

"How does it look?" Blair's voice was still a bit shaky, but he decided that he was entitled to be a bit nervous, given the current circumstances.

"About the same." John looked across at his counterpart, who was still on Blair's right. "Let's check his BP manually, okay?"

Tim looked grim and nodded. Blair watched as Tim deftly maneuvered the blood pressure cuff around the IV and up the sick man's arm. He pulled out his stethoscope, and Blair felt the chill of metal against the inside of his arm. Tim inflated the cuff until Blair thought his arm would have to explode, then listened intently as he began to slowly release the pressure. He finally nodded and released the rest of the pressure with a whoosh of air.

"Why are you doing that? Is something wrong with the machine? Come on, man, what's going on?" Blair wasn't sure what was happening, but he had never heard of anyone having to have their blood pressure taken in both arms simultaneously.

"We just wanted to make sure the reading was correct on the machine...nothing to be alarmed about. Sometimes we get false readings, and we just wanted to be sure we were getting a true reading."

"We were." Tim looked up, draping the stethoscope around his neck. "I get the same thing."

"What is it?" Blair was starting to get nervous since both medics seemed to be very secretive about his condition. If it hadn't been for Jim telling him about his pulse, he wouldn't have had any idea what was wrong.

"It's nothing to worry about." Tim picked up the microphone on the radio built in behind the driver's seat.

_Now I'll find out what's going on. They'll give the hospital my vital signs_. Blair listened expectantly.

"Cascade General, this is Unit Five. Our ETA is approximately three minutes."

"We read, Unit Five. We're set up and waiting." The owner of the tinny voice issuing from the radio seemed to know what was going on, although this was the first time Blair was aware that the medics had contacted the hospital.

He rested back against the cushioned stretcher, giving up on prying any information out of the two reticent medics. As the ambulance made the turn to back up to the Emergency Room doors, the strobe of the flashing lights startled him. He hadn't heard any sirens, so he had assumed that there was no real urgency in getting him to the hospital.

As the vehicle came to a stop, John opened the rear door from the inside and climbed down. Grasping the foot of the stretcher, he began to extract Blair from the vehicle. Tim steadied the process and followed behind Blair's head, pushing the other end of the stretcher. Blair felt the sudden jolt as the wheels touched the ground, and the medics pulled the stretcher up to its tallest position.

"Okay, we're here. We'll be in a treatment room in just a minute." John squeezed Blair's shoulder. "They'll get you fixed right up in no time."

Blair studied his face for signs of deception, then looked around with interest as the stretcher passed through the glass doors into the Emergency Room. He was wheeled down a long hall past numerous medical personnel who all seemed to be watching. The hallway opened up into a large area consisting of a waiting room full of patients to the left of a circular nurses' station. Blair's moving bed turned to the right into a large room with glass walls directly across from the nurses' station.

"Hi John...Tim. Who've we got here?" A middle aged blonde nurse stepped up to the side of Blair's stretcher and smiled. "Hi, I'm Kathy." She had short blonde hair and glasses framing a pair of expressive green eyes. She looked to be in her middle fifties and was a bit on the stocky side.

"Hi, Kathy. This is Blair Sandburg. He's 26 years old and is experiencing symptoms of tachycardia and palpitations. He has a relatively normal temp...97.8, his pulse is 150....although it spiked up to 167 a few times, and his BP is 157 over 113. He's not in any respiratory distress, although the oxygen seems to be helping a little."

"Okay, Blair, do you think you can scoot over here onto this bed from the stretcher?" Kathy smiled again, and Blair was immediately reassured by the attitude she projected of cheer and calm.

He was momentarily confused by the presence of a bed in the Emergency Room. Didn't they usually have examining tables like a doctor's office? Shrugging off his confusion, he nodded and attempted to scramble from the stretcher to the bed, needing a little help from Kathy and the two medics.

A second nurse entered the room, and the four medical personnel surrounded Blair in a flurry of activity. When it was all said and done, he had been disconnected from all of the medics' equipment, undressed, redressed in a thin hospital gown and reattached to the hospital's monitoring equipment. The IV bag was hanging from a stand beside the bed, and a blood oxygen monitor was clamped to the end of his pointer finger.

"Do you think you can breathe okay without the oxygen?" John stood quietly by while Tim began to load the equipment back on the stretcher.

"Yeah, I think so." Blair was pretty sure he had been breathing all right before they had hooked up the oxygen, but it had felt really good having that there once he had gotten used to it.

John carefully unhooked the nasal canula from beneath Blair's nose and picked up the oxygen canister. "Okay, well they're going to take really good care of you here. We're going to get going now. Good luck." He smiled at Blair and headed toward the door. "See you later, Kathy. Bye, Sarah."

Blair watched as the two medics gathered their equipment and left, pushing the stretcher  
between them. He wondered idly what was going to happen now. Although he had never been in one before, he had heard that emergency rooms were famous for keeping patients waiting to be examined, especially with as many patients waiting as he had seen in the area across from the nurses' station. At least he had a halfway decent place to wait, even if it was a bit chilly. He smiled. The last time he had been in a hospital he had been impersonating a doctor.

"Hello, ladies." The husky feminine voice made Blair's head perk up. He looked up to see two new arrivals to his room, one of which was one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen.

"Hi, Doctor Morgan." Kathy smiled at the beautiful woman. "This is Blair Sandburg. Blair, this is Doctor Morgan. She's our resident on call."

Doctor Morgan smiled and extended a slender, graceful hand to her new patient. "Hi, Blair. So you're not feeling too well, right? Let's see if we can figure out why." Her turquoise eyes twinkled as she grasped his wrist in one slender hand and began to check his pulse.

_My pulse is too high and they send Miss America to be my doctor? That __**so**__ does not make sense! She's probably got my pulse up over 200 already!_ Blair studied the beautiful doctor and thought ruefully that they should probably have sent a male doctor...or at least one that wasn't so breathtaking.

Doctor Morgan smiled again. "This is Doctor Stevens. He's a student doctor who is going to help us out today." She indicated the young man standing beside her.

"Hey." _Oh, great. A beautiful doctor and a student. This just gets better and_ _better._

While they were talking, the two nurses, Kathy and Sarah, had been busy. They were carefully taking notes, monitoring the various pieces of equipment attached to him and filling out charts. Kathy handed everything to Doctor Morgan.

"Thanks, Kathy." The doctor looked down at the chart in her hand. "Well, let's see what we have here. Blair, from your chart it appears that this attack came on suddenly? Have you ever had anything like this ever happen to you before?"

"Yes, it was sudden. And no, it never happened like this before. I mean.....I've had my heart pound before, but it was always temporary. I've never had it last this long or get this bad. It's always gone away on its own."

"Okay." Doctor Morgan made a notation on the chart, then looked back at Blair, all business. "Have you eaten anything today?"

Blair flushed with embarrassment. "Well, I didn't eat lunch, but I did have an algae shake this morning before I went to Rainier."

"Mmmmm, _that_ sounds delicious!" The doctor laughed, watching Blair's chagrin.

"Yeah, well it all depends on your taste. You wouldn't believe how good they are for your system!" He met the doctor's gaze with an impish grin. Then, remembering who he was talking to, he blushed again. "Or...uh....I guess maybe you would."

Doctor Morgan laughed again. "Yes, as a matter of fact I would." She looked back at the chart. "According to your chart, your blood pressure shot up when you got up. I want you to try sitting up, all right?"

"Sure!" Blair pushed himself to a sitting position. _Wow, I sure felt better lying down...._

"Okay, Blair. That's enough."

The doctor's voice was soothing but carried an urgency that Blair could not ignore. He immediately lowered himself back to the bed.

"What happened?" His heart seemed to be pounding faster, and he really felt worse.

"When you sat up, your blood pressure shot up again. I'm afraid that until we figure out what is causing this you will have to stay flat on your back." She made more notations on the chart. "I'm going to order some blood tests. That should give us some idea of how the chemicals in your system are doing... potassium, sodium, things like that. Also, are you on any medications? Anything at all?"

"No." Blair shook his head vehemently. "I don't believe in polluting my body with drugs. I use all herbal remedies. But I haven't taken anything today." He squirmed uncomfortably on the bed, then decided he would have to say something. "I can't stay flat. I have to... you know... _go_!"

The doctor smiled. "We can take care of that without you getting up. No, until we know for sure what the problem is, you are going to lie still. Kathy? Could you... ?"

Kathy nodded and drew a curtain closed around the bed. Walking across the room, she returned with an object in her hand. Blair's cheeks heated again. Although he was the last person in the world that could be called a prude, there was just something humiliating about having to urinate in a container while lying flat on his back. Especially with... one, two, three, _four_ people in the room with him. He really had to go, though, so he decided he would deal with the embarrassment later. That IV must be running straight through him.

Once he was feeling more comfortable, he found it easier to concentrate on what the doctors were saying. He tried to understand the medical jargon they were throwing back and forth, but he finally gave up.

Kathy stepped up to the bed. "Blair, would you like to see your partner? He's just outside."

"Sure." _Not really, but I can't say that. I'm already humiliated enough without having to appear totally weak in front of Jim_. Blair closed his eyes briefly, steeling himself for his confrontation with his partner.

"Hey, Chief, how ya doin'?"

A warm hand rested on his shoulder, and Blair knew he needed to open his eyes. "Hi, Jim. Not too good, Man. They won't let me sit up." He looked up at Jim morosely.

Jim immediately looked at the doctor in concern.

"His tachycardia and high blood pressure are at a minimum when he is flat on his back. We don't want to take any risks because of the high figures we got when he sat up." The doctor turned to Blair. "Blair, there are a few possibilities we need to rule out. There aren't very many things that can cause your body to be acting like this. One of them is dehydration. And I think we can safely rule that out with all of the fluids we have been pumping through you.

"The other is internal bleeding. We need to do a test to make sure that there isn't anything bleeding inside you."

"Okay," Blair nodded. "How do you do that?"

Jim grimaced. "Buddy, she needs to do a rectal exam. They need to see if there is any blood in your stool."

Blair cringed. Could this day possibly get any worse? Not only was he going to have an embarrassing test done, but Jim was standing right there. He thought about asking his partner to leave, but he didn't want to hurt Jim's feelings. Jim helped the nurses turn Blair to his side and left his hand on Blair's shoulder throughout the test. When it was over, he helped Blair to resituate himself in the bed.

"Well?" Blair's voice came out more hoarsely than he liked.

"It's not internal bleeding." Doctor Morgan patted him on the arm. "So now we know a few bad things that it's not. We just need to figure out what it is. We should have you out of here in no time."

But they didn't. Six hours later, Blair was still lying flat on his back. He had had to relieve himself twice more, finding the process even more humiliating with Jim there. But the big lug hadn't left Blair's side since he arrived.

Doctor Morgan had tried several things, none of which had panned out. She had run every test she could think of, and they were now working on the third liter bag of saline in his IV. No wonder he kept having to go.

"Okay, Blair, we're going to try getting you up now. I want to see how all that saline has affected your vitals. Can you sit up slowly? That's it. Now stay there for a minute and get used to that."

Blair clung to the rails of the bed. This was not the first time he had sat up in the past six hours. They had tried a test where they checked his vitals lying down, then sitting, then standing. The standing ones hadn't worked, though. They hadn't been able to keep him on his feet long enough to check his blood pressure. This time felt different, though.

Although his heart was still pounding loudly throughout his body, the dizziness seemed to have abated somewhat, and his head didn't hurt quite as much as it had all day. Doctor Morgan had explained that he hadn't realized his heart was racing because the pounding heart beats he felt, called palpitations, were only happening every second or third beat. So what he thought he was feeling as his pulse was actually only about one third as fast as his heart was actually beating.

"That's good, Blair. It's much better now. Okay, let's try standing." With the doctor on one side and Jim on the other, Blair shakily stood to his feet. "Very good! Your vitals did elevate, but nothing like before. I think that we can probably let you go home now."

"But what caused it?" Blair didn't like the feeling that at any time this could happen again.

"I don't know. I want you to go to your family physician as soon as possible. They will probably send you to a cardiologist, and hopefully they can figure out the problem. But in the meantime, I want you to go straight home and rest. You can take the next few days off from work. I don't want  
you to exert yourself too soon."

"Okay, thanks, Doctor Morgan. I appreciate your help." Blair sat back down on the edge of the bed as the doctor began to disconnect all of the monitors that were attached to him. "Actually, I was really impressed with how helpful everyone was here. I always thought that when you went to the ER you had to wait around for hours and you got stuck on a cold table and waited around longer." He grinned to take the sting out of his words.

Doctor Morgan laughed. "That's normally about right, Blair. But you got the deluxe accommodations. You're in the cardiac care room. We take really good care of anyone in here. And the name is Teresa." She patted him on the shoulder. "Well, not to be rude, but I hope I don't see you again. You have a good night, Blair."

"Yeah, sure. You, too, _Teresa_. And thanks again."

Blair watched as the doctors and nurses trailed out of his room, then slowly began to dress himself. "Hey, Jim...."

"No way, Sandburg. I am _not_ dressing you. You're on your own." Ellison glared at his partner for a few minutes. Then his face softened. "But you _are_ going to stay at my loft for a few days until you're feeling better."

Blair automatically began to launch a protest, then swallowed his words when he noticed the look on Jim's face. The big guy was really worried. Blair couldn't give him grief when he was worried.

"Okay, Jim. If you say so...." He smiled wanly. "I'm like _really_ wiped."

**_To be continued . . . _**

**_Thanks for reading! You are making this a very fun experience! Please review and let me know what you think!_**


	3. Chapter 3

_**Well, I'm on a roll with writing right now, so I thought I'd post this a little earlier than I had originally planned! Thanks so much for all the wonderful reviews! They make it so much more fun to write! **_

**_I just thought I would give you a little background. This first section of the story takes place in the first season after Siege but before the Debt. No spoilers yet. Also, while I normally put a disclaimer in about my complete ignorance of medical stuff, Heart of the Matter is the one exception. I actually _do_ have extensive knowledge of this subject. Been there, done that! So now without further ado, chapter 3 . . ._**

Ellison smiled. "Good. I'll go see if I can hurry them up with your discharge papers. You finish getting dressed."

He turned and left the room, and Blair refocused his energy on struggling back into his clothes. At least they hadn't cut them off of him. He'd heard that they did that sometimes. He couldn't afford to lose any of his clothes. He didn't have an overabundant selection to choose from.

He reached down for his shoes and sat back down quickly as the dizziness threatened to return. He had barely sat down when Jim appeared in the doorway. "What are you doing, Sandburg?"

"Getting dressed just like you told me. You got a problem with that, man?" Blair sighed and rested his head against the back of the chair, eyes closed. "This really sucks. I leaned over, and I guess I shouldn't have." Opening his eyes, he looked at Jim. "Did you get the papers?"

"No, not yet." Jim's cheeks reddened slightly.

"Well then why...?" Blair's eyes widened as the realization struck him. "You heard my heart speed up, didn't you? That's why you're in here. Oh, man, this is so wild! You were listening to my heartbeat from the other room and heard it speed up!" He gestured wildly with his hands. "Wow, we need to do some tests on this. I knew you could hear a heartbeat, but not that you could single one out from all of the people in this ER!"

"Whoa, slow down, Chief. Now is not the time to get overly excited about a discovery. It'll keep. In the meantime, how about if you take a deep slow breath for me, okay?"

Blair did as he was told, only then realizing that he had been struggling for breath. After a few deep breaths, he started to feel better. "Thanks, Jim."

"You're welcome. Now give me those shoes. I'm not going to risk another dizzy spell." He knelt down on the floor in front of his partner and picked up Blair's left foot, preparing to put the shoe on it. "And don't you say a word about this or you're history."

Blair laughed. "Yeah, right, Jim. Like who'd believe it?"

"Okay, Chief, we're here."

Blair opened bleary eyes to find that while he had dozed, they had arrived at his partner's apartment building. He struggled to unbuckle the seat belt, then smiled when Jim growled and pushed Blair's hands away, unbuckling the belt for him. _He's a big pussycat. Who would have ever believed it?_

"Thanks." Blair opened the door and got out on shaky legs. Although he was doing much better than when he had been rushed to the hospital, his pulse was still running much faster than normal.

Jim slammed his door and headed toward the building, looking back over his shoulder. "Coming?"

Blair closed his door and followed slowly. Once they were inside the building, Jim automatically headed for the staircase at the end of the hall. Then he stopped and looked at Blair.

"Sorry, I forgot. I usually take the stairs since it's faster. We'll take the elevator. You don't need to be climbing stairs today."

Blair smiled again and shuffled down the hall behind Jim to the elevator. At the third floor, Jim ushered him into his apartment.

"Why don't you go and lie down on the sofa. I'll make us something to eat. You're hungry, aren't you?"

Blair eased himself down onto the sofa with a sigh of relief. Just walking that far had really tired him out. "Yeah, I could eat." He kicked his shoes off and pulled his legs up onto the sofa, resting his head against a throw pillow.

Suddenly he sat up straight. "Hey, Jim, thanks for letting me stay here. I really appreciate it." Dizzy again, he flopped back down. "Um,...okay, then. I'll just lie here quietly then."

Jim chuckled from the kitchen. "Good idea, Chief. In fact, why don't you go ahead and get some sleep. I know you were lying down all day, but they didn't really let you get any rest. I'll wake you up when dinner's ready."

Blair was already halfway asleep and didn't feel capable of answering. 'Yeah, good idea, Jim. Maybe I'll just ....'

*****

"Sandburg? Come on, Blair. Wake up."

Blair opened his eyes slowly, still caught deeply in the fog of a deep sleep. After making sure his eyes would focus, he turned them in the direction from which the voice had issued. Jim was sitting on the coffee table in front of the sofa.

"Hey." His greeting emerged as a froggy whisper, his vocal chords having not awoken properly either. He cleared his throat and tried again. "Hey, Jim."

"Morning. How are you feeling?" Jim leaned forward, checking Blair's pulse.

Blair sighed. After waking up long enough to eat and take care of business in the bathroom, he had gone back to sleep the night before. He had been vaguely aware of fingers touching his wrist every now and then throughout the night. He had never woken completely, just enough to realize that Jim was checking his pulse.

"Okay, I guess. What time is it?" He ran a hand through his mop of curls, pushing himself to a sitting position.

"It's 8:30. I need to leave, but I wanted to make sure you're all right before I go." Jim glanced at his watch, then looked back at Blair.

"8:30! I'm going to be late! Why didn't you wake me up sooner, man?" Blair sat all the way up, swinging his feet down to the floor. "I've got office hours, and I have to finish grading those papers, and I have a class to teach, and I have a...."

"Blair." Jim's use of his first name startled Blair into silence. "I have already called the University and explained that you will be out for a few days. They've already taken care of everything. You are going to rest for a few days, until you can get in to see your regular doctor. Which reminds me; you need to call today and make an appointment. You need to get in as soon as possible. Your heart is nothing to mess around with."

"Sure, Jim." Blair tried to keep his breathing even, but apparently his tactic failed, as Jim's eyes narrowed thoughtfully.

"You're lying to me, aren't you? You have no intention of going to your doctor. Why not?"

Blair sighed. "I can't afford it. I don't have any insurance, so I don't usually go to the doctor. I wouldn't even know who to go to if I did have the money. I usually just take herbs or something if I get sick."

"Well, you're not taking herbs for this one." Jim stood abruptly and headed for the kitchen counter. He picked up the telephone handset and quickly dialed a number. "Hello, this is Jim Ellison. I'm a patient of Doctor Knight. I have a friend who is sick and doesn't have a regular doctor...."

Blair watched irritably as Jim continued his conversation. Even if Jim got him an appointment, he had no intention of keeping it. He really couldn't afford to go to a doctor. And the first visit always cost more. He would just skip the appointment and then tell Jim he had forgotten or something--or hope that he started suddenly feeling better.

"Okay, that's great. So he needs to be there at 9:15? Okay, thank you very much." Jim disconnected the call, then glanced at Blair critically. Dialing again, he waited for his call to go through.

Blair sat on the sofa and simmered about his partner's high-handed treatment. How could Jim call in and tell the University that he wouldn't be there for two days. And without consulting Blair. Well, he wasn't going to get away with it.

"Simon, it's me. Listen, I'm not going to be in this morning. I got Blair an appointment with my doctor, and I have a feeling that he won't get there unless I go with him. I should be in around noon if that's okay." Jim  
listened for a moment, then smiled. "Okay, sir. I'll do that. Thank you."

"You... you can't take off work to take me to the doctor!" Blair's anger was so great, he could barely speak. "I'm a big boy. I can get there just fine on my own."

"But you wouldn't." Jim looked at Blair steadily. "I could see it in your eyes. You had no intention of keeping that appointment. I intend to see that you do."

"Jim, I can't _afford_ it. Weren't you listening? How am I supposed to pay for it?"

"_I'm_ going to pay for it." Jim resumed his spot on the coffee table. "And before you complain that you can't accept charity, let me just tell you that I'm doing it for purely selfish reasons."

Blair stilled, looking at Jim in confusion. "You are?"

"Yes. I need you to help me with my senses, right?" At Blair's slow nod, Jim continued. "Well, if you're sick or laid up, how can you help me? I *need* you to go to the doctor so that you can get this problem taken care of and be back on the job with me. See? Purely selfish."

Blair smiled. Jim had him. How could he refuse to go or complain about Jim paying the bill with that kind of logic?

*****

"What? You have _got _to be kidding. He has to wait _how _long to get in to see the cardiologist?"

Blair watched in awe as Jim roared at his doctor. _Wow, this guy must be a saint if he puts up with stuff like this!_Doctor Knight sighed and shook his head. "Jim, it almost always takes at least four weeks to get in to see any specialist. If this were a life or death situation, we'd hospitalize Blair and have a cardiologist see him  
there. I don't feel that this is life or death. If he feels worse, we can rethink this, but otherwise there is a four week waiting list to get in to see Doctor Aaron."

"What if he saw a different doctor?"

"Jim, Doctor Aaron is the junior partner. If we tried to get him in to see one of the senior partners, we're talking six to eight weeks."

Blair shook his head slowly. He needed to retake control of this. Jim was doing all of his decision making for him. "So what do I do in the meantime?"

Doctor Knight looked over at his patient, taking an obvious deep breath before fixing a smile on his face. "There's not much we can do for you in the meantime. Try to take it easy. No exercise until we know what's going on in there." He tapped Blair on the chest for emphasis. "We could put you on some medication to slow your heart down, but again I hesitate to do that until we know what the problem is."

"No, thanks." Blair spoke firmly. "I don't like taking medication if I can help it. I'll just wait to see what Doctor Aaron has to say."

*****

Blair rolled on the sofa, hugging his sides. "Oh, that is too funny!" He wiped tears from his eyes and tried to calm himself down before he alarmed Jim.

"Sandburg?"

_Uh-oh. Too late!_ "Sorry, Jim. I was just trying to find something to watch on TV, and I saw this exercise program--you know, the ones with the instructor and a bunch of hot women demonstrating?"

"Sandburg, didn't you listen to the doctor? He said _no_ exercise!" Jim started down the stairs, then stopped in confusion when Blair laughed even harder.

"Yeah, man, I listened. I was just watching. They did this long drawn-out workout, then the instructor says to stop and check your heart rate to see if you are in the target zone."

"Yeah?" Jim resumed his trek down the stairs, more calmly this time.

"And I _was_!" Blair bent over, laughing so hard he almost couldn't breathe. "I was just sitting here on the sofa minding my own business, and I was in the target zone that you're supposed to be in after a full  
workout!"

Jim looked at Blair as though he had lost his mind, waved a hand in dismissal and headed back up the stairs.

*****

Blair stayed at Jim's loft for three days, then he insisted that he be allowed to return to his own apartment. He needed to get on with his life, and he certainly was not going to encroach on Jim's hospitality for an  
entire month. Now was as good a time as any to get back to normal. He would just continue to take things easy until it was time for his appointment.

Jim was reluctant, but he gave in and returned Blair to the police station so he could retrieve his car. Someone had moved it out of the visitor's lot and into the employee parking lot. Blair was relieved that it was still there and in one piece. If he had left it some places it would have been towed or vandalized. At least he had been at the station when his attack had happened.

"Thanks, Jim. I can take it from here." Blair grinned at his partner. "I really appreciate you letting me stay with you."

"Are you sure you're ready to be on your own?" Jim still looked skeptical.

"_Yes_, Jim. Geez, you'd think you were my father or something."

Jim winced, then grinned sheepishly. "Well, I was thinking more along the lines of an older brother. All right, I get your message. I'll back off. But if you start feeling bad, you call me or someone else. Got it?"

"Got it. Jim--stop worrying! Go home and enjoy your privacy. I know you've missed having the place to yourself. Now go home." Blair softened his words with a grin, then turned with a wave and got into the Corvair.

_Ah, at last. I can be by myself_. Blair turned up the music in his car and headed for home.

_**To be continued . . .**_

_**Thanks so much for reading! Chapter 4 will be coming relatively soon to a screen near you. Please review and let me know what you think!**_


	4. Chapter 4

**_A/N Thanks again for all of your wonderful reviews! I had already finished most of chapter 4 when a couple of comments in the reviews sparked an idea that took me off in a totally different direction than I had been thinking. So chapter 4 became chapter 5, and this new chapter was born. I hope you enjoy it!_**

**_Finally we get to the spoilers! _****_This chapter has spoilers for both Switchman and Siege._**

Blair sat down on his couch with a sigh. Home at last. He had been looking forward to this for three days now. It had been great spending time with Jim and getting to know him better, but the overprotective nature of the sentinel had really gotten old. He was used to taking care of himself; he had, in fact, taken care of himself since he was a small boy. Having that much assistance was just too weird.

He sighed. So now he was home. He just needed to figure out what to do first with all this freedom he had been bucking for. He looked around the large room that he called home. He lived in the warehouse district because it was incredibly cheap and offered lots of space, but his home wasn't quite as exciting after staying at Jim's for a few days.

Ellison may not have any decoration in his place, at least nothing like the colorful tribal masks and statues that Blair had parked around everywhere, but it had still been a much nicer place to live. For one thing, Blair was a very social person, and Jim actually had neighbors. People living in warehouses tended not to collect too many of those. The building Jim lived in was in much better shape than Blair's, also. No rats!

And as much as he hated to admit it, for all his fierce independence and his excitement about getting home to his own territory, Blair was going to miss Jim. He had only been there for three days, but he had gotten kind of used to having someone around, having _Jim_ around. He sighed again, the third time in as many minutes.

_Maybe I'll just take a nap_. It was amazing how much it had taken out of him just to walk from his car into the building and up the stairs to his living area. Yes, a nap sounded really good. His musings were cut off abruptly by the sound of the phone ringing.

*****

Jim watched as Blair drove out of the parking garage at the station, still feeling overprotective in a way he didn't understand. He really didn't know Sandburg that well; they hadn't even been working together for a month yet. It didn't really make sense that he would be so concerned about the kid. He shook his head as he thought about their first official meeting, and how he had slammed the grad student up against the wall at his reference to being a throwback.

It was hard to reconcile that action to his reaction three days ago when he had received an urgent message that Sandburg was down in the parking lot and didn't look well. He had been in the middle of typing up an important report, but he had left the cursor flashing on his computer and had taken the stairs down because the elevator was running too slow.

When he had gotten within a few hundred feet of the Corvair, he had been able to _hear _Sandburg's heart racing and stumbling from inside the car. It hadn't sounded good and his protective instincts had ramped up, just like that. Now he wasn't sure how to turn them back down.

He headed back upstairs to the Major Crimes bullpen. He really needed to get back to work; those reports wouldn't write themselves.

"Ellison, my office."

Jim sighed. He had been expecting that one. Simon didn't understand why Jim would feel the need to take time off to help the kid out. It really didn't make sense to anyone who knew him. Nothing ever came before the job with him. It was one of the reasons for the breakup of his marriage with Carolyn. He rose and headed to Banks' office.

"Yes, sir?"

Simon gestured at one of his guest chairs. "Have a seat, Jim." He watched impassively as Ellison followed his instructions and settled into a chair. "First, how's the kid?"

Jim smiled. Apparently Simon wasn't as immune to Sandburg's dubious charms as he would like to admit either. "He just left to go home to his own place. He seemed okay."

Banks nodded. "Are you ready to get back to work now? These cases are not going to solve themselves." At Ellison's nod, Simon leaned forward, resting his elbows on his desktop. "Jim, are you sure you need this kid? I just worry about him taking advantage of you."

Ellison nodded again. "Simon, I was ready to quit. You know that. I couldn't control the sensory spikes and focus on anything. Now I can start to actually _use_ the senses to help in cases. You saw what I can do with that whole mess with Kincaid. I couldn't do any of that if it hadn't been for the tests and exercises Sandburg's been having me do. But if you tell anyone I said that, I'll deny it!"

Simon grinned. Now _this _was the Jim Ellison he knew. "Alright, get back to work. "

Jim smiled back and headed across the room to his desk. Sitting down, he looked at his watch. Sandburg would have had time to get back to his place and settle in by now. Maybe he should just give him a call and make sure everything was okay . . .

*****

Blair grabbed the phone on the third ring. "Hello?"

"Chief? You okay? Your heart is racing. What are you doing?" Jim's concern filtered through the telephone receiver.

Blair rolled his eyes. "Jim, I'm _fine_. My heart is racing because the phone startled me, that's all. I told you, I will be fine!"

"Oh." Jim sounded properly sheepish for causing the racing heart.

Sandburg grinned. "Don't you have reports to do or something? Come on, Man, I promise, I am fine!"

"Okay, Chief. I'll let you get back to resting. Call me if you need anything."

Blair sighed. "Sure, Jim. Thanks for calling." He hung up the phone, shaking his head. _I knew being on my own was too good to be true. _

*****

Morning came too early, and Blair had to drag himself to the bathroom. He was hoping that an invigorating shower would help him to perk up, especially since he had been taking cooler showers since the incident the day he ended up in the ER. He was still convinced that Angie's hot towel treatment had somehow caused his collapse. He just wasn't sure how. Unfortunately, today even a cool shower couldn't seem to give him any energy.

Blair shrugged, then began to dress. He had been sitting home for too long; he needed to get back to Rainier and back to work at the station. He figured he would be okay as long as he took it easy and didn't try to do anything too strenuous or too fast. He also made sure that he ate a good breakfast, at least as big a breakfast as he ever ate. Since he had only consumed an algae shake the morning of the collapse, he was a bit concerned that this might have contributed to his problems.

Grabbing his heavy backpack, he walked slowly down the stairs and got into the Corvair. Even that much exercise was causing him to breathe heavily, but he was determined. He did not have time to be sick or lay around at home. He had _way_ too many things to do. Blair started the engine , flipped the radio on and headed to Rainier.

*****

Jim sat at his desk, trying to concentrate on the reports he was supposed to be typing. Unfortunately, he didn't seem to be getting very far. Every time he would really get going on one of the reports, his mind would start wandering, and he would end up wondering how Sandburg was doing. Finally, he couldn't stand it any longer and picked up the phone. He knew the kid wanted him to back off, and he was really trying, but he just needed to make sure he was okay.

The phone rang fourteen times before Jim finally admitted that Blair wasn't going to answer. He had even given him extra time to get there in deference to his condition. His own heart pounding, he hung up the phone and strode quickly into Simon's office.

"Excuse me, Sir. I need to go out for a little while. I can't raise Sandburg, and I need to check on him. I knew I shouldn't have let him go home yet."

Simon looked up from his own paperwork. "Go, Jim. Let me know what you find out."

Ellison nodded and headed for the elevator. In the employee parking lot, he quickly got into his truck and headed for Sandburg's part of town. He had actually never been there before, but he knew the address and the general location. As he drove, he imagined numerous scenarios – Blair unconscious on the floor, Blair having fallen down the stairs, Blair trying to call for help but unable to get to the phone, Blair…not home? Ellison slammed his vehicle into park, stunned by the visual evidence. This was definitely Blair's address, which would be a discussion for another day. This was not an acceptable area of town for anyone to live in. He would have already had that discussion if he had seen the neighborhood before, but Blair had asked a friend from the university to bring his clothes to Jim's loft, so Jim had not had the pleasure before. This was definitely Blair's address, but there was no Corvair parked outside and there was no heartbeat coming from within. Ellison put the truck back in gear and headed for Rainier University. He was going to kill the kid himself when he found him.

By the time Jim pulled up beside Blair's Corvair in the lot beside Hargrove Hall, he had worked up quite a head of steam, gritting his teeth in anger. Did the stupid kid have no instinct at all for self preservation? They still didn't even know what was wrong with him. He could have another attack at any time. It wasn't helping things that Ellison had no idea why this was bothering him so much. He got out of the truck, slamming the door, and headed into Blair's building, automatically turning up the dial on his hearing to search for his missing guide.

He filtered through the noise coming from numerous classrooms and offices until he finally found Blair's voice. Shaking his head in disgust, he headed toward the sound. The kid was actually teaching!

When he arrived outside the classroom, he took a deep breath. Going off half cocked would not help anything. Opening the door, he slipped into the back of the classroom and found a seat. Blair was in the midst of an animated description of a dig site he had been on. Jim was slightly mollified to notice that the younger man was sitting on a chair, although that didn't seem to inhibit the rest of his body from moving. Both hands were in the air, gesticulating expressively as he continued his lecture.

"And then when they cleared the rubble away from where the wall had fallen, we found it. It was a whole room preserved from the…" Blair broke off when he noticed his latest student.

Jim smiled at him, deliberately utilizing the cold predatory smile he had perfected with difficult suspects. Blair visibly swallowed, then resumed his lecture, although a little of his energy seemed to have dissipated. After a few more minutes of attempting his lecture, punctuated by furtive glances up in Jim's direction, he finally gave up.

"Okay, that's enough for my first day back. You guys enjoy a little extra free time today. I'll see you on Thursday. And don't forget – you need to have read chapter 5 by then."

Jim leaned back in his chair and waited for all the young students to file out, all talking excitedly about the unexpected free time they had been handed. Once they were all gone, he rose smoothly and walked down to the front, where Blair had still not moved from his chair.

"Morning, Chief." He took a seat in the front row directly in front of Sandburg. "Nice morning, don't you think?"

Sandburg's head was down, and his heart was thundering again. He didn't respond, and Jim leaned forward with a frown.

"Chief? Are you okay?"

Blair's head came up sharply, and Jim noticed belatedly that the younger man was shaking with fury. "Just where do you get off chasing me down like a lost dog or something? I'm old enough to take care of myself, and I don't need you to follow me around and hold my hand!"

Jim found himself unexpectedly back pedaling. "Whoa, Chief. I know you can take care of yourself. I just got worried when you didn't answer your phone. I needed to make sure you were okay. I didn't mean to upset you. Take slow deep breaths, Buddy. "

Sandburg gave a short nod, then took a deep breath. "Look, I know I probably should have let you know where I was going, but I just needed to get back to work. I have papers to grade, classes I need to take myself, and a couple that I'm teaching. I was going to come over to the station when I was done here. Why do you care so much, anyway?"

Jim shrugged his shoulders, disgruntled and frustrated. "To be honest, I have no idea. I mean I appreciate all the help you've given me, but for some reason I seem to be over the top with this whole protection thing. I don't get it myself."

Sandburg's whole face lit up. "Oh, wow. Do you think that maybe it has to do with me kind of being your guide with the whole sentinel thing? Maybe it's some kind of ingrained response to help the guide stay alive so the sentinel has back up. I need to do some research!"

Jim groaned. "Well, can you do it at the station? I need to get back to work, and I seem to feel better when I can keep an eye on you."

"Sure, Jim. Let me get my bag." Sandburg stood up too quickly and swayed for a few seconds before getting his bearings. He held up a hand, averting Jim's aborted move to help him. "I'm fine. Just stood up too quick."

Jim shook his head, leading the way back out to the parking lot. "Are you okay to drive?"

Blair sighed. "I am _fine_! I will not leave my car here. I'll meet you at the station."

Jim nodded sheepishly. "Sorry, guess I'm going to have to work on that!"

*****

Blair sat quietly beside Jim's desk, heavily engrossed in the thick volume he was studying. He had spent the past few days attending necessary classes and functions at the university and then spending the rest of his time at the station, researching his new theories about the protective nature of the relationship between a sentinel and a guide.

So far Jim had not had any calls or interviews, so he had spent all of his time at the station, catching up on his reports and keeping an eye on Blair. Although he still seemed overly concerned about the younger man, so far things had gone relatively well. Blair's heart was still beating too rapidly and stumbling, but it seemed to be mostly under control as long as he stayed put.

"Ellison, Sandburg, my office."

The call from Simon's office instantly sent Sandburg's heart racing. He stood up shakily and followed Jim into Banks' office. Jim immediately pulled a chair over and got Blair settled into it. Sandburg didn't bother to complain, knowing he needed to pick his battles.

"What's up, Sir?" Jim stood behind Blair's chair, leaning against the wall.

Simon studied the two men. "I hate to do this right now, but Jim, I need you to go out and question one of your informants. Pete Washington called in a tip on the Gerard case, but he's your informant, and he said he will only talk to you."

Jim looked torn. "Sir, I really do want to talk to him, but I…"

"We'll get right out there, Simon," Blair interrupted. He held up a hand when Jim opened his mouth to argue. "Jim, I'm only here on a 90 day ride along, and we can't afford to lose any more time. I know you want to keep an eye on me, and that's cool. I'll stay in the truck. Then everybody's happy. You get to do your interview, Simon gets his information, and I get out of this office. I'm going nuts here, Man! I'm not used to all this inactivity."

Jim grinned, although he appeared to be trying to contain it. Blair shrugged it off; he knew they referred to him as the Energizer Bunny behind his back.

"Fine." Jim gave in gracefully. "But you _will_ stay in the truck."

Blair agreed, and the two men headed for Jim's truck. Comfortable silence reigned the whole way to Pete Washington's pawn shop, which was not far from Blair's home. Sandburg had brought along his book and was still busily engrossed in it, and Jim was keeping one eye on the road and the other on his companion.

When they pulled up in front of the shop, which had a lit sign in the window proclaiming 'Checks cashed here', Blair put his book down.

"Stay in the truck," Jim warned as he got out to go inside. "I mean it, Chief. You stay put."

Blair rolled his eyes. "Jim, go talk to Pete. I'm just going to sit here."

Ellison nodded and headed into the shop. Blair could hear the tinkle of the bell as the door opened. Pete was behind the counter, and he came out into the store area when he saw the detective enter. Blair watched the animated conversation for a moment , and then looked back down at his book. His head had only dipped for a second when he heard the shatter of glass.

Jerking his head up quickly, he was startled to see the Pawn broker lying still on the floor, and Ellison standing stock still beside him, expression slack and dazed. Blair scrambled for the door when he recognized the pose. His partner had zoned on something at the worst possible time. Someone was shooting at him, and if Blair didn't get to him now, he was going to be a sitting duck. He swung the door open and dropped down to the ground, keeping low as he ran to the front door. The show window beside the front door was gone, and shards of glass were scattered all over the floor and Jim's informant.

Blair ducked inside the front door, taking a deep breath as the room tilted dizzily around him. Jim needed him. He couldn't let his partner down now. Crouching as low as he could, he pulled Jim down to the floor beside him.

"Jim, come on, Man. You need to come back right now, Big Guy!"

Ellison started and looked around the room in confusion. It only took a few seconds for him to figure out what was going on, and he dragged his protesting partner behind him, pulling out his weapon. "Stay down and behind me, Chief."

Blair looked over at the pawn broker, shuddering in reaction. "Jim, is he…"

"No, he's still alive." Ellison pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and shoved it behind him. "Here, call for backup. I'd yell at you for getting out of the truck, but I'm glad you did. Thanks."

Blair grinned unsteadily at him, hitting the speed dial for the precinct. "Yeah, you're welcome. I knew it was a good thing I came along."

Ellison was still searching for the sniper, keeping one ear tuned to his partner's pounding pulse. "You need to slow it down now, Chief. Your pulse is out of control. Come on, you know the drill. Deep breaths. Meditate or something. "

Sandburg chuckled. "Yeah, because this situation is really conducive to meditation, Jim! " At his partner's dirty look, he gave in. "Fine, I'll try my best. Do you hear the sniper? See him? Anything?"

Ellison took slow deep breaths and stretched his senses out as far as he could. Sandburg's hand on his back helped to center him, and he was finally able to hear the ragged breathing and pounding heart beat that was out of place.

"There!" He pointed to the building across the street, as the first police cars pulled up around them. Jim didn't move, gesturing to the building. "He's up there; try the third floor."

Both partners watched vigilantly until they heard the sound of gunshots across the street, and within minutes the gunman was apprehended and led down in handcuffs.

"Wow, what was that all about?" Blair asked, sitting up now that the danger was over.

"Pete was going to tell me what he knows about Gerard's operation, and unless I miss my guess, that was one of Gerard's men, trying to prevent that."

Blair shook his head. "Is your friend going to be okay?"

Ellison nodded. "The bullet hit him in the shoulder. He just hit his head on a display case on the way down and knocked himself out. He'll live to tell his story. I think we've got this case about wrapped up, Chief." He studied Blair closely. "How're you doing?"

"Just give me a minute," Blair huffed, still trying to slow his heart rate. "I'll be good in a minute." He concentrated on taking slow deep breaths and relaxing.

Jim sat still and watched him for a minute. "Chief, I really appreciate what you just did for me. If you hadn't come along, I might not still be here. So I have a deal for you. I know you're worried about not having enough time if Simon can't extend your ride along status, and I worry about leaving you behind. So for now, when I need to be somewhere, you'll come along with me and stay in the truck just like today. Then you'll be where I can keep an eye on you, and I'll be where you can keep an eye on me."

Blair grinned. "Sounds fair to me."

Jim smiled back. "And hopefully, when you get to see the cardiologist in three weeks, he'll be able to tell us what's wrong with you and fix it, and then things can go back to the way they were."

"It's a deal, Jim. Just until the doctor figures out what's wrong. Now help me up, Big Guy."

Blair held out an arm to Jim, and the detective pulled his partner slowly to his feet. Sandburg wobbled for a moment, then took a deep breath.

"You okay, Chief?" Jim looked at him with more concern than Blair would have liked, but at least the deal they had made was a good compromise.

Blair nodded, heading back toward the truck slowly. "Yeah, sure, Man. I guess I can handle living like this for another three weeks. And then the doctors will figure out what's wrong."

**_To be continued . . ._**

**_Thanks again for your continued support! Chapter 5 should not take as long to post, since much of it was already written and I mostly need to do some tweaking to make it fit a little better with this chapter. Please review and let me know what you think!_**


	5. Chapter 5

**_Once again, thanks to everyone who is reading this! As always, you are all awesome! And thanks for all the great reviews. You make my day!_**

**_This chapter contains spoilers for _Siege_,_ The Debt _and_ Love and Guns_._ **

**_Late November 1994_**

"What do you _mean_ there's nothing wrong?"

Blair winced at his partner's loud tone. The two men were seated in plush red chairs in a large office. Directly in front of them stood a large mahogany desk, littered with stacks of fat file folders. A marble pen stand with an engraved gold plate on the front proclaimed the owner's identity as James Aaron, MD cardiology.

The man seated behind the desk shrugged his shoulders, watching the enraged detective warily. Blair returned his attention to him, sensing that the doctor was about to speak.

"Detective Ellison, please keep your voice down. There are other patients in this office, and I would prefer that you did not upset my cardiac patients. I allowed you to be in this conference as a courtesy to Mr. Sandburg, but if you cannot control yourself, I will have to ask you to leave."

Blair glanced back at his partner and saw that he had the grace to blush.

"I'm sorry. Go ahead."

The doctor cleared his throat, adjusting wire rimmed glasses on his face. "What I was saying is that there is nothing physically wrong with your heart, Mr. Sandburg. All of the tests show that the heart itself is in perfect condition. There are no murmurs and there are no abnormalities with any of the blood vessels."

Blair wished he could be like Jim and shout in frustration. He took a deep breath before speaking. "Are you saying I'm making all of this up? Because if you are, I have a _big_ problem with that."

"No, I'm not saying that there is nothing wrong or that you are making it up. We have documented the episodes of tachycardia and rhythm disruptions with the EKGs we have done and also with the heart monitors that you've worn. What I _am_ saying is that the symptoms you are having are caused by something else... maybe a chemical imbalance. I'm sorry I don't have anything definite to tell you." Doctor Aaron leaned back in his chair and removed his glasses, rubbing at the lenses with a soft cloth which he had removed from his coat pocket.

Blair got a sick feeling in his stomach. "So what do I do now? Man, I can hardly function this way. It took me a month to get in here to even see you, you've been doing tests for three weeks, and now you're telling me you can't help me? I'm always tired, I get out of breath, and I gotta say that this palpitation thing really sucks. It's really hard to concentrate when it feels like your heart is jumping out of your chest."

Jim placed a restraining hand on Blair's arm. "Take it easy, Chief. I'm sure that Doctor Aaron isn't saying he can't help you, right, Doc?"

"Well, yes, I can help to alleviate the symptoms. There are medications I can prescribe..."

Blair interrupted irritably. "I don't do medications. I prefer herbal remedies. I don't like to pollute my body with chemicals." He found himself shaking for no reason and realized that another attack was coming on.

"Mr. Sandburg, I believe that you may want to make an exception in this case." Doctor Aaron picked up a pen and began to write on a prescription pad. "I'm going to give you a prescription for a medication called Inderal. It should help to lower your heart rate and maybe even stop the palpitations. It will take a few weeks for it to build up in your system enough to be very effective, but I think it will really help."

Blair kept his eyes on the floor, fuming silently. This heart thing had changed his entire life. Ever since the day he had collapsed in the parking lot, he had experienced a whole new way of living. From the doctor's visits to not being able to handle exercise, he was fed up with it all.

The doctor had ordered several EKGs, he had had blood drawn at every visit, and he had been made to do a stress test. The worst of the tests, however, had been the heart monitors. The first one had been a 48 hour Holter monitor. This involved being hooked up to several wires leading into what looked like a Walkman. It had monitored his heart rate continually for 48 hours... which meant that he had been unable to remove it for 48 hours... which meant that he had been unable to _shower _for 48 hours.

The event monitor came next, and that one was worse. Although he was able to remove it long enough to shower, he had worn it for two and a half weeks. Any time his heart had done anything unusual or he had felt dizzy or out of breath, he had been instructed to push a button on the monitor so it would record. Unfortunately, this monitor was not silent, and anyone in his general vicinity had been able to listen to the high pitched beeps as he recorded. Then he had transmitted the recordings over the telephone to the lab, causing yet another bout of loud high pitched beeps.

To make matters worse, he discovered that he was allergic to the adhesive used on the patches attached to his chest, and he now sported several large open sores where the adhesive had rubbed his skin raw. He wondered if they would ever completely heal, or if he would be scarred for life.

He was constantly tired, he could feel his pulse beating all over his body, he was unable to do a simple thing like walking up a few stairs without getting dizzy and short of breath, and he had been unable to properly keep up with Jim since the onset of his symptoms. He was concerned about his partner's senses. Jim was still learning how to deal with them, and he didn't need this setback.

And now they wanted him to pollute his body with chemicals that had never been intended for human consumption. Well, thanks, but no thanks. He would find some herbal remedy that would help him and be good as new.

Jim leaned forward, breaking his chain of thought. "Come on, Blair. Give it a try. This isn't cold medicine we're talking about here. This is your heart we're talking about. You can't play around with it."

Blair studied the Sentinel's earnest face for a moment, then reluctantly nodded. "Okay, I'll try the drugs. I'll give it two weeks, and if I'm not feeling better by then, I'll stop it again. Deal?"

Jim smiled, looking relieved. "Deal."

*********

"We'll stop to get your prescription filled on the way home, okay?"

Blair nodded sullenly, still feeling sorry for himself. He was incredibly disappointed that he hadn't been given a definitive diagnosis and treated. He had expected the cardiologist to magically fix what was wrong, and now that he hadn't, Blair felt lost.

"I'm too young to have heart problems." He sighed. "I _so_ don't have time for this. How am I supposed to be your backup if I don't feel up to doing anything? What if Simon can't extend my ride-along status? We're almost out of time, and half the time I don't feel good enough to do much to help you!"

"Come on, Sandburg. Don't give up on me here. You promised you'd try the medication for two weeks. I'll bet you a dinner at a restaurant of your choice that you'll be feeling back to your old self in no time!"

Blair perked up, unable to prevent a smile at this gallant gesture. Jim surely had to know by now that Blair had completely different tastes in food. If Blair won, Jim would certainly not be eating Wonder Burger!

"You're on!" He leaned back in his seat, his smile fading as he thought back over the past several weeks.

Shortly after the incident at the pawn shop, a drug lab on the other side of the warehouse he called home had exploded, effectively rendering him homeless. Blair suspected that Jim would not have given in so easily to his request for a place to stay had it not been for Blair's mysterious heart condition and Jim's grossly exaggerated protective instincts.

He had now been living with Jim for nearly a month, three weeks longer than the original week they had agreed on. He wondered if his partner was afraid to ask him to leave, hesitant to upset a sick man. He sighed again. Whatever the case, he hoped that Jim continued to extend his hospitality, as he didn't feel up to apartment hunting right now.

"Okay, we're here, Chief."

Blair looked up, torn from his thoughts as Jim opened the door and got out. "Yeah, let's get this over with."

*****

"Would you stop being so melodramatic?" Jim looked at Blair, exasperated. "It is _not_ going to kill you to take a little pill once a day." He shook his head in disgust, walking away.

Blair felt his face heat with embarrassment and forced himself to swallow the pill. "There....you happy? I'm going to bed." He stalked into the living room and curled up under a blanket on the sofa. "Goodnight."

Out of the corner of his eye, he barely caught Jim's smug, triumphant smile. "Good night, Chief."

*****

**_Early March, 1995_**

Blair woke slowly, nearly overcome with a feeling of impending doom. What had happened? He lay completely still, taking stock of his situation as he tried to remember what had happened to cause this horrible feeling of dread. His head was aching; that was the first thing he was sure of. Although his whole head ached, the pain seemed to be worse in a few localized spots. His jaw ached, and his lower lip felt tight and swollen. His head hurt at the temple, and he decided it might not be a good idea to move any time soon.

He struggled to remember how he had come to be in this condition, and then groaned softly when he did. He had been helping Jim with a case, getting close to a girl at Rainier named Maya Carasco. Jim had suspected her father of being involved in illegal gun deals and murder, and he had asked Blair to see what he could find out from the daughter. Unfortunately, Blair had fallen head over heels in love with her.

He had struggled with his guilt in deceiving her and also with his growing feelings for a girl that he knew he should stay away from. Jim had watched him carefully throughout the whole case; Blair had caught him staring thoughtfully at him on several occasions. He knew that Jim was not only concerned about Blair's growing attraction to Maya and the danger that threatened him, but he had grown almost obsessively concerned about Blair's heart.

After three and a half months of failed attempts to control Blair's heart condition with various medications, Jim had become overly protective and far too focused on him. Blair often caught his partner monitoring his vital signs, and he noticed that Jim was less likely to give him a hard time about things. It was heartwarming and annoying at the same time. The only real good news during that time was that no further mention had been made of the ninety day time limit on Blair's observer status. He had now been riding with Jim for six months, and not one reference had been made to dissolving the partnership.

Which brought him back to his current situation. He had told Maya that Jim was a researcher that he was helping with a project, and when Maya saw Jim on a television interview she had put two and two together. Blair had gone out to her house to try to talk to her, and when the housekeeper wouldn't let him in, he had walked around to the back to see if he could find another way to attract her attention. While he was walking back toward her window he had overheard an incriminating conversation between her father and one of his men.

He had decided that he had better get back and tell Jim what had happened, but before he could take more than a few steps, he had felt a sharp pain in his jaw and had instantly passed out. He found out later that Carasco's personal assistant had caught him and punched him in the jaw... hence the aching jaw and swollen lip.

He had awoken in the green house, gagged and tied up. Carasco had been there and had told his man to kill Blair. Then Maya had gotten involved and before it was all over, Blair had been hit in the head with a machete and knocked out again... hence the throbbing pain at his temple.

All of this hurt, but it was not any of this that was causing the horrible ache in his heart. Maya had left him, going back to Chile to the rest of her family. Before she left, she had told him that she loved him, but that she also hated him. Blair didn't know how to handle this. The ache seemed to consume him, and he didn't want to wake up.

The sound of a slight cough caught his attention, and he finally forced eyelids swollen from falling tears open enough to see Jim sitting in a chair beside his bed. Jim straightened when he saw Blair looking at him.

"Hey, Chief. How ya feeling?"

Blair groaned again. "How do you think I'm feeling?"

Jim leaned back in his chair. "I think you probably have a sore jaw and a splitting headache... and you feel like your heart has been torn out. I think you're feeling like you'd rather sleep and forget what happened. Am I close?"

Blair stared at his partner for a moment, then looked away. "Lucky guess."

"Well, I hate to tell you this, but you're not the first person who lost someone they loved. It hurts, but you get past it. But you won't get past it until you decide to get on with your life." He apparently decided that this was enough of a heart to heart. Standing abruptly, he gently ruffled Blair's hair. "Drennan left. Are you sure you don't want some noodles? You didn't have anything to eat."

"I'm really not hungry." Blair looked at his partner, putting on his best pleading look. "I can eat later, 'kay, Jim?"

Ellison studied him carefully. "Yeah." He patted Blair's knee. "You just take it easy. I'll be out in the living room if you..."

Blair looked up sharply as his partner stopped in the middle of his sentence. "What?"

"It's your heart!" Jim's excitement was palpable.

"What about my heart?" Blair concentrated on how he felt, trying to figure out what had caused his partner's excitement. "Come on, Man, don't keep me in suspense, here!"

"It's beating normally! The medicine is finally working!" Jim grinned at Blair, relieved. "So . . . _now_ how do you feel?"

Blair glared halfheartedly at his partner. "My jaw aches, my head is throbbing, and my heart hurts." Working hard, he managed a half hearted smile. "But I think I'm going to be okay."

Jim laughed. "You're going to be fine, Sandburg."

Blair looked at his partner, the excitement contagious. "Yeah... I _am!"  
_  
After all these months, his heart was finally getting back to normal. As much as he hated to admit it, he really _had_ needed the medication to cope. Herbs just wouldn't cut it this time. Now things were back to normal, at least as close to normal as they had been in a very long time, and he was glad that this whole mess was over. Now if he could just get over this fiasco with Maya….

**_To be continued . . ._**

**_Okay, so Blair is fixed...temporarily, at least. Chapter 6 is partially written, so I will get it out to you as soon as possible. Thanks again for reading, and please review and let me know what you think!_**


	6. Chapter 6

_**Thank you so much for your continued support! You guys are blowing me away with all the hits I've received on this story, and the reviews continue to spur me on. Thanks so much to everyone who has taken the time to let me know what you think. You rock! **_

**_Like chapter 4, this chapter was not included in the original version of this story (the one I posted on SentinelAngst several years ago). I tried to skip this, but it insisted on being written! :-)_**

**_Warning: This chapter has MAJOR spoilers for Blind Man's Bluff!_**

_**November 1995**_

Jim sat silently beside Blair's bed, listening to the machine breathing for him. It was worse to not actually be able to see his partner. His imagination was running away with him, creating all sorts of scenarios of how terrible Blair probably looked. All he knew was that if not for the respirator, the younger man would not be breathing.

"Come on, Chief. You're safe now. You can come back any time." He reached for the edge of the bed and fumbled with the blankets until he found Blair's limp hand. "I need you to wake up now."

Silence answered his plea, and he sighed and settled in to wait some more, nearly zoning as he listened to the rhythmic whoosh of the respirator. He was roused from the near zone by the soft snick of the door opening followed by the sound of footsteps entering the room. Jim sat up a little straighter and inhaled the combined scents of tobacco and gourmet coffee. Simon.

"_Jim? How's he doing?"_

Ellison sighed and tilted his head toward the captain._ "He's fading in and out, sir. Doctors say it's going to take some time for the drug to work its way through his system."_

Jim listened distractedly as his boss filled him in on what they had discovered about the drug. Unfortunately, there was nothing new there. They were still shooting in the dark. His lips curved into a mirthless smile; pun intended.

Simon paused. _"How you doing, man? You don't look so good." _Simon's voice got closer, and Jim could tell he had sat down on the edge of Blair's bed.

"_Oh, I'm all right, man. I was hoping…hoping he'd come to, you know? This Golden crap. This is insidious stuff, man. I mean, there must have been ten to twenty times the amount that would kill a person on that pizza." _Jim shook his head. "I never thought I'd be happy that Sandburg had a medical condition, but his heart medication may actually be what saved him."

"How so?" Simon was clearly puzzled.

Jim laughed humorlessly. "Well, Golden is a hallucinogen, and one of the worst physical side effects is that it increases your blood pressure and heart rate. Blair just recently got his medication increased and he was still adjusting to the new dosage. Because his blood pressure and heart rate were low to begin with, it may have actually prevented him from having a stroke or heart failure. One of the doctors was just here explaining that to me. He thinks he's going to make it, but there are no guarantees."

Simon gripped Jim's shoulder. "We need to get these guys, Jim."

Ellison nodded. Leaning over, he squeezed Sandburg's hand again. "You hang in there, Chief. We need to find these guys, and then I'll be back. You rest."

He allowed Simon to guide him to the door, all of his senses still trained on his partner. He shook his head as he thought about how they had come to this point in time.

Golden was a new drug in town, and they had already lost several people to the hallucinogen. Jim and Blair had gone undercover at Slicks, the amateur drag strip, as point men for Cyrus, an international drug trafficker. What the local distributors had not known was that Cyrus was actually a made up entity created by the DEA.

While making contact with the dealers at the drag strip, Jim had come into contact with some of the drug, accidentally rubbing it into his eyes, which precipitated the blindness that now plagued him. All he could see were golden lights, streaks and swirls. The doctors were fairly optimistic he would get his sight back; they just were not sure when it would happen.

While blind, Jim had set up a drug deal with the distributors and had nearly gotten 100 Kilos of the deadly drug off the street. Unfortunately the bust had gone bad, and the distributors now knew that the police were on to them. This led to the delivery of several pizzas to the Major Crimes Bullpen, purporting to be from the chief for a job well done. Fortunately for the rest of the detectives, Blair was the only one who had actually eaten a slice. Unfortunately for Blair, there had been enough Golden on the slice he had consumed to nearly kill him.

Jim shuddered as he remembered the scene in the parking garage where they had found his partner. He had been shooting up the place with Jim's backup .38, terrified and convinced the world was being overrun.

_**Earlier**_

"_Blair? It's Jim. What's going on, buddy?" _Jim slowly approached his partner, a forced smile on his face, clapping sporadically. The smile slipped a little when he heard Blair's thundering heartbeat. His illness had never caused his heart to race this fast. Jim wondered how he was still standing.

"_There's no need for applause, man. I got it all covered." _

Jim relaxed slightly, hearing the almost tranquil quality to Blair's voice. Maybe he could reason with him and nobody would need to get hurt any further._ "What's going on?"_

"_You don't see them? They're coming through, through the walls and the floor, man." _

Ellison's heart fell when the tranquility dropped from his partner's voice and the rapidity of his heart rate increased. Sandburg was sounding terrified now. _"Who are?" _

"_The Golden fire people. You don't see 'em, man? They're made out of fire and they're burnt. You think they're ashes, but they're alive, man. And we got to send 'em back!" _Sandburg was in tears now, his terror overcoming him. He pulled the trigger again, and there was the sound of shattering glass as a headlight exploded.

Ellison was deafened momentarily, not having been prepared for that, but he stopped moving, waiting until his hearing kicked in again to speak. _"Blair! Easy, buddy! Easy, buddy! Whoa! Blair, listen to me! Your gun isn't going to work with the fire people. They're not going to be afraid of your fire. It's only going to make them stronger. You've got to use the bat echo trick." _

Blair was so out of it that he didn't even remember what trick Jim was talking about, although it had only been days before that Sandburg had taught it to Jim to help him combat his blindness. Jim did not have an easy time convincing his partner that it would work, but at last he was able to inch close enough to touch Blair's hand, and he carefully eased the weapon from it.

Ellison could hear footsteps pounding as police officers came out from behind cars all over the garage. He heard Simon's voice as the captain rushed over to help him with Blair, who was now clapping half-heartedly in an attempt to get rid of the golden fire people that only he could see. Ellison and Simon moved in concert to help the young observer off the hood of the car he was standing on.

Chills ran through him as Ellison realized he could actually hear Blair's body shutting down. As they lifted him down, Jim pulled him into a tight hug. Sandburg whispered a feeble apology as he slid into unconsciousness. Jim held him closer, resting his head against his partner's. That had been too close, and they weren't out of the woods yet. He vaguely heard voices shouting, most predominantly Simon.

"_We need a medic over here now!"_

Jim ignored the chaos, concentrating solely on his young partner._ "Hang in there. It's all right."_

What seemed like a moment later, someone tried to pull Sandburg from his arms, and Ellison snapped back to reality with a jolt. He released his hold on the unconscious observer, allowing the paramedics to do their job. Simon stayed beside Jim, keeping him grounded with a hand on his shoulder.

Within moments, the paramedics had Sandburg on oxygen, hooked to a heart monitor and blood pressure cuff. Jim shook his head; they had been here before. Just when it seemed they had everything under control, this happened. He wondered what this drug would do to the tenuous handle they had on Blair's mysterious heart condition.

_**Later**_

Ellison's sight now coming and going sporadically, he waited with his gun cocked for backup to reach him and the last drug dealer. He knew Simon was not going to be happy that he had damaged his car, but at least the scum was off the streets. Now all he could think of was getting back to the hospital to see how his partner was doing.

Simon was the first to reach him, and although his sight was still not back to normal, he could see the storm clouds in the captain's eyes. "Ellison! The next time you drive my car while blind you're going on suspension. Is that understood?"

Jim blinked. "Uh, the _next_ time, sir? I'm not on suspension _this_ time?" He had been fully prepared to take the consequences for his actions.

Simon glared at him. "No. Now have one of the patrol cars take you back to the hospital to see your partner before I change my mind."

"Yes, sir!" Ellison headed toward the nearest patrol car.

"Ellison!"

Simon's call stopped him in his tracks. He turned to look back at the captain quizzically.

"Good work."

*****

Jim walked down the hallway to Blair's room, finding it odd to make the trip now that he could actually see where he was going. Entering the room, his heart sank when he got his first real look at his partner. Sandburg was flat on his back on the bed, his hair sticking out in untidy bunches of curls around his head on the pillow. The respirator protruded from his mouth and his skin was pale and waxen, making him look like a poor imitation of the real Blair Sandburg.

Jim shuddered as he sat down in his chair. His imagination had actually been kind; in all of the scenarios he had imagined, Blair had never looked this bad. Even the golden glow that still softened the edges of everything didn't help.

He gently picked up Blair's limp hand again. "Come on, Chief. We got the bad guys. Now it's time for you to wake up." He squeezed the hand, then carefully eased it down beside his partner in the bed, sighing. It was going to be a long night.

*****

A strange noise woke Ellison from a restless sleep. He shifted uncomfortably in his chair, wondering what it was that had woken him. Moving again, he stretched his stiff muscles and glanced at his watch. He had been sitting beside Blair's bed for five hours now, leaving his partner's side only to use the small bathroom in the corner of the room. He glanced blearily over at the man lying in the bed, and suddenly he was wide awake.

Blair was moving sluggishly on the bed, head tossing restlessly, fingers scrabbling aimlessly at the sheets. The strange noise Jim had heard was the alarm on the respirator. He leaned forward, grabbing Blair's hand.

"Whoa, Buddy." He pushed the nurse call button clipped beside Blair's pillow. "It's okay, Blair. You're fine."

Sandburg stilled, curling his fingers around Jim's, but his heart rate, which had dropped significantly overnight, started to pick up speed again. He opened panic stricken eyes, staring up at Jim in confusion, and raised his other hand to pull at the tubes.

"No no, Chief. Leave them alone. They're helping you breathe. Don't fight it. Just relax and let the machine do the breathing for you. Come on, stay still for a minute. The nurse will be here in a minute and she'll help you. It's okay. You're going to be fine." Jim squeezed Blair's fingers firmly, resting his other hand on his partner's forearm. He kept up the soothing monolog in an attempt to keep the injured man calm.

By the time the nurse had arrived, Jim's efforts were paying off, and Blair's heart rate was slowing again. The nurse bustled into the room, heading immediately for Blair's bed.

"I'm so sorry it took me so long to get in here, Mr. Sandburg. We're a little bit short staffed today. It's good to see you awake. Let me just check your vital signs, and then the doctor will be in to see you. If everything is going as well as I think it is, he'll probably get you off that respirator in just a little while."

Jim smiled up at her. "Thanks, Maria."

Maria smiled back, quickly checking Blair's vitals and plumping his pillow. "Okay, I'll page Doctor Anderson. He wanted to be alerted as soon as you were fully awake. I'm sure he'll be in soon."

As soon as Maria had bustled back out the door, Blair turned puzzled eyes on his partner, squeezing his hand firmly. Jim met his gaze steadily.

"You want to know what's going on, right?" At Blair's slight nod, Jim continued. "Do you remember anything?" This time, he got a head shake. "Okay, Buddy. Do you remember the pizzas being delivered to my desk in the bullpen?" Blair thought for a moment, then nodded. "Well, they were laced with Golden. You ate a piece and got an overdose. But you're doing much better now." Jim deliberately didn't mention the garage and Blair's bad reaction.

Sandburg's heart rate picked up anyway, as he suddenly began to remember what had happened after he had eaten the pizza. Jim gripped his arm firmly.

"Hey, hey. It's going to be okay. You survived, nobody got hurt, and nobody blames you for what happened. Everyone knows it was an attack against the police station. You just happened to get the pizza first. But Doctor Anderson told me last night that he feels you're getting better, and he doesn't think that you're going to have any permanent damage from the Golden, not even your heart." He chuckled. "Actually, your new heart medication may have saved your life."

Blair looked at him quizzically, but before Jim could elaborate, the door opened and a middle aged man wearing a white coat over his scrubs entered the room, followed by a more familiar figure; Blair's cardiologist, Doctor Aaron, followed the doctor into the room.

"Good morning, gentlemen." Doctor Anderson immediately approached the bed. "Maria tells me you're doing really well and would like to get off that annoying respirator." He laughed at Blair's emphatic nod. "Well, first I want to see how you're breathing. Maria, start the test."

Maria, who had followed the two doctors into the room, typed rapidly on a keyboard attached to the respirator, and then nodded to the doctor.

"Okay, Mr. Sandburg. Now I want you to breathe normally. We're going to test you to see how you do without the extra help. If you can breathe normally for the next 15 minutes and your blood oxygenation level stays okay, we'll take you off the machine. Sound like a plan?"

Blair again nodded emphatically, obviously ready to get rid of the extra tube. Jim chuckled. "You'll get there, Buddy!"

The next fifteen minutes seemed to take an eternity to pass for Jim, and he couldn't even imagine how long it must seem to Blair. The two doctors and the nurse stood off to the side, monitoring the readout of the blood oxygenation monitor. Blair fidgeted, turning pleading eyes to Jim, who couldn't refuse his partner and started talking, trying to keep his mind off of his current situation. He talked about the latest Jags game, what he had eaten for lunch and anything else he could think of.

Finally Doctor Anderson stepped forward. "Okay, Mr. Sandburg, you're alright. Your Blood ox levels are fine, so I'm going to take you off the respirator. I'm going to need you to blow out for me in just a moment. Ready?"

Jim gripped his partner's arm again, offering silent support throughout the uncomfortable procedure. Once the tube had been removed, Maria handed Jim a cup of ice chips to give Blair if he was thirsty. Then she stepped back to let the two doctors examine their patient.

Doctor Anderson stepped forward first. "Mr. Sandburg, I just have a few things to check here, and then I'm going to turn you over to Doctor Aaron. If all goes well, we could have you resting at home by late this afternoon. We just need to monitor you for a little while more to make sure that there are no side effects from the drug."

"'Kay," Blair rasped, reaching for the cup of ice chips that Jim held out.

Jim winced at the rough quality of the younger man's voice. It was going to take a while before Blair's sore throat went away.

Doctor Anderson quickly conducted the tests he needed, and then stepped back. "Okay, James. He's all yours."

The cardiologist stepped forward. "Let's just take a look at a few things, Blair. But actually, Doctor Anderson already did most of the tests I need, so I won't take too long, and then you can rest for a while."

"My medicine saved me?" Blair rasped. "How?"

Doctor Aaron smiled. "Oh, you didn't hear that whole story yet? Well, you know how you've been feeling tired the past week or so while we got your dosage adjusted on your medication?" At Blair's nod, he continued. "Well, that was because during the adjustment period, your pulse and BP were too low. It usually self adjusts after you're on it for a little while. Golden is a hallucinogen, so it makes your pulse and BP skyrocket. Because yours were already too low, you had a head start on countering the attack."

Blair shook his head in disbelief, and Jim smirked at him. "See, your heart condition saved your life." He sat back and watched vigilantly as the doctor checked Blair over carefully.

"Okay, Blair. I am going to have to agree with Ken here." Doctor Aaron smiled at his patient, gesturing toward Doctor Anderson. "From all the tests we've conducted, I think you've really gotten away with something here. Your heart still seems in perfect shape, and it's slowing down to a normal rhythm. I think by this time tomorrow, you'll be fine. Just take it easy tonight. Ken will be back in a few hours to discharge you." He patted Blair's shoulder. "I'm glad to see you doing so well!"

The two doctors and Maria quietly left the room, and Blair looked up at Jim. "You can see?"

Jim grimaced. "Yes, I can see, and please stop talking! You're making _my_ throat hurt! My sight is still pretty golden, and it comes and goes, but it's getting better all the time." He leaned forward. "Chief, I know you, and I know how you think. Don't ever think that you did anything wrong in that garage. Anyone would have reacted that way, and you had no reason to doubt that the pizzas were from the chief. Nobody thinks any less of you because of what happened. "

Blair looked at him for a moment, and then studied the blanket on the bed as if it were the most fascinating thing in the world. Jim gripped his shoulder tightly.

"Chief, are you listening to me? You had a major overdose and nearly died. But you did nothing wrong. What happened in the garage was not your fault. Are you getting me?"

Sandburg looked up at him with a tiny hint of a grin. "I hear you." He yawned and blinked, leaning back in his bed. "I'm really wiped. I'm going to rest for a while."

"You do that, Chief. I'll be here when you wake up." Jim watched his partner drift to sleep and leaned back in his chair to keep watch over him. Nothing more would happen to his guide while he was around.

**_To be continued . . ._**

**_Thanks again for reading, and as always please review and let me know what you think. _**


	7. Chapter 7

_**Here's chapter 7. Thanks again for sticking with me and for the great feedback! I appreciate everyone who has taken the time to review. **_

**_This chapter contains spoilers for Dead Drop. _**

_**January 1996**_

Everyone was looking to him for leadership, and Blair didn't know what to do. He looked frantically around the elevator car, taking in the terror stricken expressions on the occupants' faces.

"Do something!" Desperation was evident in the voice of the electrician sitting across the elevator.

"I.. I don't know what to do!" Blair cried. "I'm sorry!"

"Chief?"

Blair looked around for his partner. He knew Jim was there somewhere... he could hear his voice. In horror, he realized that the sentinel was sitting beside him, sorrow darkening his expression.

"Chief?"

"I'm sorry, Jim. I don't know how to stop it." Blair felt a rising pressure in his chest. "You're not supposed to be here! I don't know how to save you!"

"It's okay, buddy."

Blair turned agonized eyes to meet Jim's calm, sad expression, and then he looked down as the timer on the bomb hit zero. The world exploded in a myriad of colors and sounds.

"Blair...wake up _now_!"

The voice was urgent now, almost panicked, and Blair found himself trying to comply. He opened his eyes slowly, surprised to find himself sprawled on the sofa in the living room at the loft. Jim was perched precariously beside Blair on the edge of the seat, gripping both of his partner's shoulders tightly.

Blair panted, trying to get enough oxygen as he struggled to figure out what had happened. Looking around the room, he noticed the blue books and his red pen scattered around on the coffee table. Oh. He'd been grading some assignments for his Anthro 235 class. He guessed he must have fallen asleep. That whole terrifying incident he had just gone through had just been a terrible nightmare. He shuddered; actually, it was more like a twisted version of the actual events of the day.

"You okay, Chief?"

"Uh...yeah." Blair drew in a deep breath and expelled it slowly. "Oh, man."

"Some dream, huh?" Jim was still watching Blair carefully.

"Yeah." Blair sucked in another deep breath. "You could say that. I'm sorry. I guess I woke you up, huh? Was I yelling?"

"No. Actually it was your heartbeat that woke me. I've never heard anything like it. You know how we've been talking about oiling the springs on the sofa?"

Blair nodded, watching his partner intently as he continued to slow his breathing.

"Well, I heard this squeaking noise coming from down here, and I finally figured out that what I was hearing was the sofa squeaking in time with your heartbeat. By the time I got down here, I clocked your heart rate at about a hundred sixty!"

"Oh, wow!" Blair looked at his partner in something like awe. "That fast? And all from a bad dream! "He ran his hand through his hair. "Well, anyway, I'm sorry I woke you. But I'm _not _sorry _you_ woke _me_!" He swallowed hard, thinking about his dream.

"Do you want to tell me about it?"

"There's not a whole lot to tell. I was back on the elevator." Blair grimaced, thinking of the events of the day. "Except this time, you were there, too. Everyone expected me to fix things, but I didn't know what to do. I couldn't save you, Jim." He lifted tortured blue eyes to meet Jim's steady gaze.

"Hey, it was a dream." Jim squeezed Blair's shoulders. "It didn't happen that way. I _wasn't_ there, and you _did_ know what to do. You saved everyone, Chief. I'm not surprised you're having nightmares about it, though. I think I'll be having nightmares for a long time about that moment when I thought we were too late."

Blair nodded. "Yeah." He shook himself and yawned. "Well, I guess I'd better try and get back to work now. Thanks for waking me up, man."

Jim took his cue and released Blair's shoulders. He stood up, turning toward the door. "Why don't you pack it in and actually go to bed? I'm sure you'd be more comfortable on the futon."

Blair nodded and stood, walking unsteadily back to his room. Jim followed him, making sure that he made it without further incident. When the younger man was safely seated on the edge of his bed, Jim nodded and headed for the stairs.

"I'll see you in the morning."

Blair waited until he heard Jim's footsteps hit the top of the stairs, then turned onto his side and stared into the darkness. It was going to be a long night.

*****

"Hey, Blair?"

Blair looked up inquisitively from his seat on the couch. He set his red pen down, frowning at the concern on his partner's face.

"Are you feeling okay?"

"Sure, Jim. Just a little tired, that's all. Why?" Blair wondered what had caused this sudden concern in his partner.

"Your heart's still racing. Did you have any more bad dreams?"

Blair snorted inelegantly. "No. But then, you usually have to be asleep to have bad dreams. And I wasn't."

"I wondered if you'd be able to get back to sleep after that." Jim grasped Blair's wrist and concentrated for a minute. "Did you take your medication this morning?"

"Yes, Mom." Blair rolled his eyes. "I haven't missed a dose in days." He pulled his wrist free. "It's probably just taking a while to get back to normal after last night. No big deal."

"Yeah, you're probably right." Jim studied Blair thoughtfully. "Well, if it doesn't get better, I think we'd better get you back to the doctor. Maybe this medicine isn't going to last any longer than the others did"

Blair sighed. Since he had started taking medication to control his heart, he had been forced to switch medication three times. It seemed that each medicine worked for a while, and then his body built up an immunity or something. The dosage would be changed, and that helped for a while, but then he'd need to change again. He hated to even think about going through the process of switching again.

"I'll be fine tomorrow. You'll see."

*****

"Hey, Chief."

Blair looked up groggily as he shuffled into the kitchen. He grunted at Jim in an uncharacteristic display of pique. He felt like he hadn't slept at all, still thinking about that horrific nightmare. He sat down at the table, not even looking up when Jim pushed a steaming mug of his favorite herbal tea in front of him.

"Thanks," he mumbled, pushing his hair back from his face. He picked up the mug and took a sip.

Jim sat down and looked at him seriously. "We need to talk."

Blair glared at Jim in frustration. "Yes, I know. I'm not any better."

"No, you're not. Your heart is still racing. I think we need to talk about getting you back to see Doctor Aaron. Maybe your medication needs to be changed again. But this is the worst it's been since the day you were in the Emergency Room. I think it might be time to start seeing about other options or another opinion or something."

Blair sighed. "Fine," he ground out. "I'll make the appointment. But don't forget, I probably won't get in until next month anyway."

"That's true." Jim sat down across the table from Blair. "But I think while you're waiting to get in, it might not be a bad idea to go to see Doctor Knight, just in case it's something different causing the problem this time. You can probably get in to see him in the next day or two, and that way we can make sure you're not in any immediate danger."

Blair opened his mouth to protest, and then closed it again. "Fine. The sooner I can see _some_body the sooner I can get back to normal." He raised a hand wearily. "Ahhh… I don't want to hear it. I know I've never been normal."

Jim chuckled, pulling out his phone. "You said it, Chief. Not me!"

*****

"Blair Sandburg?"

Blair looked up from the anthropology book he had been studying and smiled wanly at the nurse standing just inside the waiting room doors. He stood up, carefully sliding the book back into his backpack, and headed across the room to join the nurse.

"Hey, how's it going?"

The nurse smiled. "I think that's _my_ line, actually! What brings you here today?"

Blair sighed. "I've been having heart problems again, after almost a year of it being mostly controlled by medication. I just want to know that everything is relatively okay because I can't get in to see my cardiologist for another 5 weeks."

The nurse, a tall brunette with green eyes and a wide friendly smile, nodded in sympathy. "I have to schedule a lot of the referrals to the specialists. Trust me; I know how long it takes sometimes to get in to see one!" She led the way back to a treatment room. "My name is Samantha, and I'll get you ready to see Doctor Knight. "

Samantha quickly took Blair's vitals and recorded them on his chart, ending by hooking him up to those adhesive patches that he had developed an allergy to, and checking his heart's function with an EKG. Fortunately, it didn't take long, and he didn't think he had time to develop any significant problems from the sticky substance this time.

"Okay, Mr. Sandburg, you can relax now. Doctor Knight will be in to see you shortly." She smiled and left the room, closing the door carefully behind her.

Blair sighed and settled back to wait. He wasn't really expecting any help from this visit, but Jim had been very insistent about making the appointment. He pulled his book back out of his pack and started to read.

*****

"Blair, I have a suggestion for you."

Blair looked up expectantly. "Sure, Doctor Knight. What do you suggest?"

The doctor leaned back in his chair and studied his patient somberly. "There have been some developments in cardiology since you were first here sixteen months ago. There's a new branch of cardiology that may be better suited to figuring out your situation. And there just happens to be one of these new specialists at the same cardiology office we sent you to before. I'd like to send you there and have him see you. "

Blair leaned forward in his chair eagerly. "He might be able to help me? I'm listening!"

Doctor Knight smiled at his excitement. "Okay, the specialty is called Electrophysiology, and it involves the study of the electrical impulses of the heart. We're very fortunate to have one of these doctors in the Cascade area. There are actually only about a thousand electrophysiologists in the whole country right now.

"The doctor's name is Jonathan Simmons, and I've met him. He's young, but he really knows his stuff. There is one drawback, however. Because he is the only one in the area, it will probably take closer to 8 weeks to get in to see him. In the meantime, I've talked to Doctor Aaron, and he's agreed to increase your medication until you get in to see Doctor Simmons.

"Doctor Aaron agrees that it might be in your best interest to schedule a visit with Doctor Simmons. He's your best bet for a resolution to the problems you've been having. We already know that there's not anything physically wrong with your heart, so this could be what we've been looking for."

"Where do I sign up?" Blair grinned. _Finally! Maybe this guy can help me and I won't need to keep polluting my body with drugs!_

*****

"Jim, I need to see you in my office."

Jim looked up to see Simon standing in the doorway of his office. He nodded and rose to follow his boss into his office. "Yes, sir?"

"Sit down, Jim." Simon sat down behind his desk and focused on his friend. "Have you heard anything from Sandburg yet?"

Jim shook his head. "Not yet. I'm expecting a call from him any time. He's really struggling right now. I don't know how he keeps up with me, as fast as his heart has been racing."

"Well, that's my question. _Can _he keep up with you? Or do I need to assign someone else to you temporarily? I know you need someone with you in case of 'zoning issues'…" Simon chuckled at his own joke, while Jim rolled his eyes half-heartedly. "But if Sandburg can't do it right now, we can find someone who can."

Ellison shook his head. "Let's not go there yet, sir. Let's see what the doctor says first, and if they can do anything for him."

"Alright, Jim, I just…" Simon bit off his response as Ellison's phone rang.

Jim held up a hand. "Ellison." He listened for a moment, and then heaved a pained sigh. "Whoa, slow down, Chief! I can't understand you." He listened for another minute, and then smiled. "That's great! Okay, I'll see you in a little while." He ended the call, returning the phone to his pocket.

"Well?" Simon demanded impatiently. "What's the verdict?"

Jim smiled again. "Well, the good news is that there's some new kind of specialist they want to send him to that might be able to help. The bad news is he can't get in for 2 months to see this guy. So they're going to increase his medication until then to try to keep the problem under control."

Simon grimaced. "Well, let's see how he does. But I do _not_ want him out there as your only backup if he doesn't improve. That's not safe for either of you!"

Jim nodded. "Understood, sir. He's on his way here, so we'll learn more about what he found out soon. I'm really curious what kind of new specialist they found that could help him when a cardiologist couldn't."

*****

"Hey, Jim!" Blair practically bounced into the Major Crimes bullpen.

Ellison looked up with a relieved smile. He hadn't seen Blair this wound up in a while. "Hey, Chief. So tell me what you found out!"

"Not until you come in my office first," Banks called from the doorway. "I want to hear this, too."

Blair shrugged good-naturedly and headed for Simon's office. "Sure, no problem."

Once all three men were seated in the office, Jim leaned forward, elbows resting on knees. "Okay, spill, Chief."

Blair grinned. "Sheesh, impatient, aren't we?" He chuckled at Ellison's expression. "Okay, fine. Apparently there is a new branch of cardiology that might be what I need. There's this new doctor at the cardiologist's office called an electrophysiologist that specializes in the electrical currents of the heart. I don't really know any more than that, but I do know that Doctor Knight _and_ Doctor Aaron both think he might be able to help. We're also really lucky that there happens to be one nearby. I guess there aren't very many yet in the country since it's a new field."

"Is that why it's going to take so long to get in?" Simon asked.

"Yes." Blair pulled his hair back out of his face and heaved a sigh. "I'm not too crazy about that part of it, but they are going to increase my meds in between, so they think I'll be okay until then."

Simon studied Blair thoughtfully. "Sandburg, I want your honest opinion here. Do you really think you can keep up with Jim feeling the way you do? I want what's best for both of you here."

Blair cringed, but met Simon's gaze steadily. "If I can't keep up, you'll be the first to know. Please let me do this. I promise if it gets too bad, I'll take some time off. But please don't pull me out yet. I can do this!"

Simon nodded, hoping he wouldn't have cause to regret that decision.

**_To be continued . . ._**

**_Thanks so much for continuing to read this! Please review and let me know what you think. I'm off to work on chapter 8 . . ._**


	8. Chapter 8

_**I am very sorry for the delay in getting this chapter out, but I hit a little bit of writer's block. I had the chapter partway done, but I couldn't get it to go anywhere. So I ended up deleting the whole thing, and coming at it from a completely different angle, and that worked. Thanks so much for your continuing enthusiasm for this story and all of the wonderful reviews. **_

**_This chapter has no spoilers._**

_**March 1996**_

The day of Blair's appointment dawned cold, wet and windy; the kind of day when it was hard to even get out of bed. The blaring of the alarm woke him with a start, and his heart pounded, ridiculously out of control. Not even his drastically increased medication could control his natural reaction to the excitement of the coming day. This was the day he had been waiting for; the day when he might actually get some answers to the mysterious heart condition that had been plaguing him for the past 18 months.

He had barely managed to struggle to a seated position when Jim appeared in his doorway with a steaming mug. "Here you go, Chief. I made you some Chamomile tea. Your heart rate tells me you need to calm down!"

Blair smiled sheepishly as he accepted the warm mug. "Thanks, man. I can't help it! I just keep thinking today's the day I find out what's wrong. And then I start thinking what if this new doctor can't help me either? Or what if it takes a long time? He probably has a bunch of other tests to run, and it might take a while. There's just so much to think about!"

Jim chuckled. "Well, why don't you drink your tea and take a shower while you're thinking? We have to leave for your appointment in an hour."

Blair paused with the mug halfway to his lips, the steam wafting into his face. "_We_?"

"Yes, _we_." Ellison headed back out to the kitchen. "I took the morning off so I can go with you." He held up a hand as Blair opened his mouth to protest. "Don't worry, I promise I'll stay in the waiting room this time. I don't want to make another one of your doctors mad at me."

Blair hid his grin behind his mug as he took a cautious sip of the hot liquid. "Okay, Jim. You can come with me. Thanks for the tea."

He dragged himself out of bed after another few sips of the comforting brew and grabbed some clothes, heading into the bathroom to take a shower and get ready. He adjusted the water temperature so that it was as warm as he could handle without aggravating his heart rate and stood under the spray. He would rather have had a steaming hot shower, but he had learned through experience that this was no longer an option with his condition. Twice in the past two months he had passed out in the shower, waking up when he hit the floor of the tub. Fortunately, Jim had not been home on either occasion, so he had been able to conceal the embarrassing incidents.

He had also been fortunate in that he had not needed to slow down on his guide duties with Jim. After the first week on his new dosage of medication, his body had adjusted and he had been able to keep up with his partner fairly well, although Jim had insisted that he take it easy.

"Sandburg, are you sleeping in there?" Ellison's voice startled Blair from his thoughts. "Now we only have 30 minutes until we leave. Get a move on!"

Blair moved into action, washing his hair as quickly as he could. How could he have been standing there under the warm water daydreaming for thirty minutes already? The last thing he wanted was to be late for his appointment, now that he had made it through a full eight weeks of waiting just to get to this point.

Finishing with his shower, he wrapped a towel around his waist and stepped out of the tub. Swiftly dressing, he contemplated pulling his hair back into a ponytail, but discarded that idea when he considered that he may end up having tests that required him lying flat on a table somewhere. Five minutes later he appeared in the living room, completely dressed, hair down and dry.

"Okay, Jim. I'm ready."

"Hold your horses, Chief. Your breakfast is on the table. We're not going anywhere until you eat something." Jim looked up from the newspaper he was reading over his coffee to fix his partner with a stern look.

"Fine." Blair sat down at the table and ate the breakfast Jim had laid out for him, which consisted of a bowl of oatmeal, a slice of buttered toast and a banana. He drank his orange juice, and then grinned at Jim. "There, are you happy, _Dad_?"

Jim smiled back. "Very. Now brush your teeth and let's go." He folded his paper neatly and stood up. "I'll go start my truck. I'll see you down there."

Blair hurriedly brushed his teeth, grimacing at the taste of orange juice mixed with toothpaste, grabbed his backpack and took the elevator downstairs, having learned from experience that walking down all those stairs would merely exhaust him. Jim was already in the truck, and the engine was running. Blair quickly got in on the passenger side, and as soon as he was settled, Jim put his vehicle into gear and they began the ten minute drive to the cardiology complex.

"So, how do you feel?" Jim glanced at his partner curiously.

"Nervous!" Blair blurted. He grinned wryly at Jim. "I've got my hopes up so much, I'm just afraid I'm going to find out they can't help me."

Ellison smiled at him sympathetically. "Well, it's always a good idea to be realistic, but don't count this doctor out before you even see him."

Blair nodded, then leaned back to look out the window. Silence reigned for the rest of the drive, Jim concentrating on driving and Blair thinking about his appointment. As they pulled into the complex, Jim noticed the full parking lot and groaned.

"I'm going to drop you off at the front door and go park the truck. Just save me a seat in the waiting room."

Blair nodded, grabbed his backpack and got out at the door, watching as Jim's truck pulled away toward the other end of the parking lot. This place was always full. The practice was large, consisting of seventeen cardiologists in several specialized areas. Between them, the doctors usually kept the parking lot and the waiting room full.

Inside the building, Blair let his eyes adjust to the dimmer light. The waiting room was laid out in two groups of chairs, one group on either side of the main doors. In the middle of the room was the reception area, where two women in scrubs were busily working. A line stretched almost to the door, waiting to check in. Blair got in line, ruefully thinking that if nothing else, this whole ordeal had taught him patience. Other than his ambulance ride and the emergency room visit, nothing had been done in a hurry throughout this whole lengthy process.

He had only been standing in line for thirty seconds or so when he was no longer the last one in line. By the time Jim entered the building, Blair had moved about halfway to the desk, and there were seven people behind him. He grinned at Jim.

"Guess _you'll_ have to save _me_ a seat, man."

Jim grinned back, shaking his head. "I'll just be over here looking at a magazine…"

Blair chuckled, watching him walk away, and then settled in to wait until it was his turn to check in. Finally he made it to the front of the line, and one of the receptionists motioned for him to approach.

"Hi, how's it going?" Not much could keep Blair's irrepressible flirting down, and the woman was definitely worth a second look. "Blair Sandburg. I have an appointment with Doctor Simmons." He handed her his driver's license.

The receptionist took the license and began to type the information from it into her computer, sparing a moment to smile at Blair. "Hi, Blair. It's been insane in here today. I'm afraid you might have a bit of a wait. Doctor Simmons had an emergency this morning, and his patients have gotten backed up a little." She handed the license back to him. "You can have a seat in the chairs to the left and someone will call you back when they're ready for you. I'm sorry for the wait."

Blair put his license back in his wallet, smiling ruefully. "Don't worry, I'm getting used to waiting." He turned and gestured to Jim, who had already taken a seat in the chairs to the right. "Come on, Jim. We're over on the other side today."

Jim put his magazine back on the table and crossed to the other grouping of chairs. "You've never been on this side before."

"No," Blair agreed. "This is the side where they have the specialists. I've always been on the side for the general cardiologists before."

Jim shrugged, settling into a chair next to Blair. He grabbed a Newsweek magazine from the table beside them and started to read. Blair pulled a book out of his backpack and settled back to do some homework. He had gotten to be quite the professional at handling long stays in waiting rooms.

*****

"Blair Sandburg?"

Blair looked up in relief, spotting a young woman in green scrubs just inside the door holding a clipboard. His wait had seemed extra long today. He shoved his book back in the backpack, which he handed to Jim. "Keep an eye on this for me, okay, man?"

Jim nodded, meeting Blair's eyes seriously. "Deep breaths, buddy. It's going to be okay."

Blair nodded as he followed the nurse through the door into the restricted area of the office. He followed her through winding halls into a section with several examination rooms surrounding a central area with a scale and a desk. Several of the rooms had a chair just outside the door. He wondered what those were for but didn't ask. His stress level had risen as soon as his name had been called, and he didn't even bother to flirt with the pretty woman, preferring to remain quiet but cooperative as she recorded his weight and then led him into one of the examination rooms.

"Please sit up on the table," she said crisply, closing the door behind her.

Blair complied and sat patiently through the usual round of pulse and blood pressure checks, then sighed as she pulled out the equipment to do an EKG. This seemed to be as standard in a cardiologist's office as checking blood pressure. Without being asked, he began to remove his shirt; he knew the drill by now.

Once the test was complete, the nurse instructed him to put his shirt back on. "Doctor Simmons is still running behind, but he should be with you shortly." She smiled at him and left, again closing the door behind her.

Blair sighed; he should have brought his book back with him. He climbed down off the table to sit in the chair beside it; if he had to wait he could at least be more comfortable. Leaning back in his chair, he started to read the framed posters on the wall, all cutaway depictions of a human heart. Once he had finished reading the posters, most of which he had seen before in other examination rooms here, he leaned his head back against the wall and closed his eyes. At least this was giving his heart a chance to settle down before he saw the doctor, although he actually wasn't sure that was a good thing. He _wanted_ it to act up when he saw the doctor so that it might be easier to diagnose.

Comfortable now, he let his mind wander. _I wonder how long I'll have to wait. I bet Jim could just listen and figure out where the doctor is now and how long it will take him to get in here. I wonder what Jim's doing? I wonder if he found any interesting magazines. Or maybe he found a pretty woman to talk to. Man, I'm such a wimp, being too nervous to even talk to that poor nurse. She was really hot. Is it hot in here, or is it my heart? I wonder why they have those posters on the wall? They're kind of disgusting when you think about it. _

_Man, I wonder if the doctor is going to have any clue what's going on, or if he's going to tell me the same thing all the other doctors have. I gotta stop thinking about this. I wonder how long I'll have to wait…_

His musings were interrupted when he heard a noise outside the room. He may not have Sentinel hearing, but he could hear paper rustling and then a squeaking noise. His guess was that someone was sitting in the chair outside the door and looking through his file. He opened his eyes and sat up straighter. This could be it. The doctor was outside his door. _Finally!_

The rustling noises and the occasional squeak continued for the next fifteen minutes, and Blair was beginning to think that he had been wrong about the reason for the noises when a sharp knock sounded at the door and a young man in a white coat entered the room.

"Hi Blair, I'm Jonathan Simmons."

The doctor held out his hand and Blair shook it, thinking this doctor didn't look any older than Blair himself. Maybe he wasn't. He was a tall man with close cropped blonde hair and sharp blue eyes. The doctor pulled a stool from the other side of the room and sat down in front of his patient.

"So I understand you've been having a hard time getting a diagnosis." Simmons looked down at the thick chart on his lap absently.

Blair laughed mirthlessly. "Yeah. I've been dealing with this for a year and a half, and so far all they know is that there's nothing wrong with my heart. And yet I'm on heavy doses of medication to control it. I really don't want to spend the rest of my life living on medication."

The doctor smiled. "Then we'll just have to make sure you don't have to. I know what's wrong, and I can fix it."

Blair found himself speechless for a moment, his mouth opening but nothing coming out. Finally he regained control of his faculties. "You … _know_ what's wrong?" His brow creased in a puzzled frown and he could tell his heart had sped up again. "How could you know what's wrong? You haven't even examined me! Aren't you going to order tests or something?"

Simmons grinned at him smugly. "I get that a lot. Blair, I don't need to examine you or to order any tests. I have everything I need in your file. You've already had every test I would have ordered, and your diagnosis is obvious because of the results. Doctor Aaron didn't catch it because it's not in his area of expertise, it's in mine."

Blair, still reeling, leaned forward in his chair. "So what's wrong with me, and how can you fix it?"

Simmons pulled a colorful pamphlet from his coat pocket. "You have an arrhythmia. Doctor Aaron was correct in that there is nothing physically wrong with your heart; it's all in the electrical system, which until recently nobody understood. This pamphlet will help you understand what I'm talking about." He opened the booklet and flattened it against Blair's file, gesturing to his patient. "Here's what I mean."

Blair found himself having a hard time following the doctor, his mind continuously playing back the words he had spoken only moments before. _I know what's wrong, and I can fix it._ He had hoped the doctor could help him, but it was almost impossible to fathom that it was _this_ easy. After eighteen months of wondering, it was mind boggling.

Blair pulled his thoughts together and focused in on the doctor, who was now sitting back on his stool, observing him with an amused smile. "Are you with me? I completely understand your response, because I see it a lot. Are you ready to continue now?"

Blair nodded sheepishly. "Sure. Sorry about that. So I have an arrhythmia? What does that mean?"

Simmons gestured to the pamphlet again. "Take a look at this diagram of a heart. The two chambers at the top are called the atria, and the two at the bottom are the ventricles. The blood enters your right atrium, passes through the right ventricle into your lungs, then back into the left atrium, down to the left ventricle and back to your body. I'm sure you learned that in biology class when you were in school. But let me explain how the heart actually works."

Blair looked up at him attentively. This was kind of like being in a lecture at Rainier. He was more in his element now. "Should I be taking notes?"

Simmons grinned. "No, I'll give this pamphlet to you, and it explains everything. So . . . now you know how the blood moves through the heart, and _that_ part of your heart is working fine. The thing you are having an issue with is the actual electrical impulse that causes the heart to beat to begin with." He drew a circle over the right atrium on the diagram. "This is where your heartbeat originates, in a part of the heart called the sinus node. The electrical current is supposed to start there and then direct both atria to contract, letting the electrical current spread to the rest of the heart.

"But your heart is not doing that. The technical term for your condition is Paroxysmal Supraventricular Tachycardia, specifically Atrial Flutter." The doctor chuckled at the blank look on Blair's face. "I know, that's a mouthful. Let me explain what that means. I just told you how your heart is _supposed_ to beat. Now let me tell you what your heart is _actually_ doing."

Doctor Simmons opened Blair's fat file folder and flipped through several pages until he came to what he was looking for. He turned the file so that Blair could see a page of EKG printouts. To Blair, it just looked like a bunch of squiggly lines.

"Instead of the sinus node originating the electrical current and passing it along to the rest of your heart, you have an extra electrical pathway in your right atrium that is causing the electrical impulse to get caught in a loop. It's just circling around in your right atrium. So that one part of your heart is beating at about 300 beats a minute, and only some of those beats are getting through to the rest of your heart, which is what is causing your heart rate to beat between 120 and 150 beats a minute.

"Don't worry, there's very little threat of death from this type of arrhythmia," Simmons continued, seeing the panicked look on Blair's face, "unless you were to pass out while driving a car or walking across a street or something. But there's no reason for you to have to continue to live like this. We could put you on medication, which you've already told me you don't want, or we can fix it."

"And how would you do that? Are you talking surgery?" Blair was still struggling to take everything in, but he was determined to keep up and ask intelligent questions.

Doctor Simmons pulled a second pamphlet from his pocket. "There is a procedure we can do called cardiac ablation. It involves catheterizing the heart, which means we'll insert catheters into your heart through blood vessels at the groin area and possibly through your arm or neck. You won't be anesthetized for the procedure, but we'll give you something to help you relax. You might even fall asleep.

"Once the catheters are in place, we can induce the arrhythmia, and special electrodes at the end of the catheters can help us pinpoint the exact location of the bad electrical pathways. Then we use something called radiofrequency energy to destroy the bad pathways. It will take four to six hours, and then you'll have to lay flat for another four to six hours after that. We'll probably keep you in the hospital overnight. It's not surgery, so it's considered non-invasive, and there's little pain associated with the procedure. You'll be back to your old self in a week or two. So what do you think?"

It took Blair a moment to realize that the doctor had stopped speaking and was waiting for a response. "Um, well it doesn't sound too bad," he began, head spinning from the onslaught of information he had just received. "So it's not too risky?"

"Well, there's always a risk involved with any procedure, but it's not a large one." Simmons studied Blair closely. "So would you like to go ahead with it?"

It was all happening too fast, and Blair needed to slow down for a minute. "Um, could I have a couple of minutes to think about it?" he asked desperately.

Simmons stood up. "Sure. You think about it, and I'll be back in a few minutes. In case you decide to go forward with the ablation, I'll check for openings in the electrophysiology lab. That's where we do the procedure." He turned and left the room, still clutching Blair's folder.

Blair was left alone in the room with two colorful pamphlets, an overload of information and a big decision.

**_To be continued . . ._**

**_Thanks again for reading this! I will try to get the next chapter out more quickly. As always, I appreciate your reviewing and letting me know what you think!_**


	9. Chapter 9

_**I just want to say thank you to everyone reading and especially those who are reviewing. Thanks so much! You guys are great!**_

**_Warning**This chapter contains heavy spoilers for the 2nd season episode_ Smart Alec_. The dialogue in italics is taken straight from the episode. (Sorry, I forgot to say that about the dialogue from_ Blind Man's Bluff_)_**

Jim idly flipped the page of the _Time_ magazine he was pretending to read. Blair had been back there for a very long time, and he was beginning to regret his decision to stay in the waiting room. He knew how nervous the younger man had been about today's appointment and found himself starting to think the way Blair had earlier this morning.

_What if they can't help him? What if they need to do a lot more tests? If this is a wild goose chase, Blair will be so discouraged. _He flipped another page. It was taking a lot of energy to keep from using his sense of hearing to find out what was going on back there, but he knew Blair would kill him if he zoned in the waiting room, and he had no idea how far back in the bowels of the cardiology office Blair had gone. He might have to really stretch his hearing to find him. Besides, this was a big place, and there were a lot of people back behind those double doors; it would be hard to filter through them all to find his partner. He briefly considered trying anyway, but finally decided against it. Frustrated, he sighed and flipped another page.

*****

Blair sat frozen in his chair, staring blankly at the two booklets Doctor Simmons had left him. He felt kind of shell shocked, to be truthful. He had wanted to get this stupid heart condition resolved, but now that it might be happening, he wasn't quite sure what to think. Everything was happening too fast. He wanted some time to think about things, to mull over what he should do. Apparently, he was going to be given as long as it took for the doctor to check the calendar. He'd have to think fast. But really, what choice did he actually have?

If he decided against the procedure, he would spend the rest of his life on medication. This was definitely not an acceptable solution. He could wait and get a second opinion, but he'd been waiting for 18 months for someone to have _any_ opinion about what was wrong with him. It could take years to find someone else. And also, both Doctor Knight and Doctor Aaron believed in this guy, or they wouldn't have recommended that he come to see him.

He wished fleetingly that he had let Jim come back with him so he could discuss it with his partner, but again, what choice did he have? There was only one decision he could really make, and Doctor Simmons knew it. No wonder he had gone to check the calendar. Blair sighed in nervous frustration. This visit was not turning out at all how he had planned it.

Having admitted to himself that he was going to have to have the ablation procedure, Blair turned his attention to doing what he did best- learning. He scooped up the two pamphlets and settled back to carefully read them. He was halfway through the second brochure, reading the step-by-step description of what he could expect, when the door opened and Doctor Simmons returned.

The young doctor studied Blair's face for a moment, then smiled. "You've decided to go ahead with it?"

Blair nodded. "I really don't see that I have much of a choice, unless I want to take medication for the rest of my life. And I _so_ don't want that!"

Simmons nodded. "Well then, I have some good news for you. We have an opening in the EP lab on March 18th.

Blair looked up at him sharply. "March 18th? You mean in less than two weeks? I thought it would take a couple of months to get in . . . like it did to see you."

The doctor smiled knowingly. "Don't you mean you were _hoping_ it would take a couple of months? I understand that you're nervous, Blair, but the sooner you get it over with, the better for your health. It takes a couple of months to get in to see me, but I usually try to keep at least one day a week available for the electrophysiology lab. That way once someone does get in to see me, they are not waiting forever for treatment that usually is needed quickly."

Blair nodded morosely. The doctor had him pegged; he really had been hoping that he would have a couple of months to get used to the idea. But now that he was going to have the procedure in less than two weeks' time, he was more nervous. "March 18th it is then."

Simmons reclaimed his stool and sat down in front of Blair. "Okay, now those brochures I gave you cover just about everything that you can expect the day of the procedure, but these sheets list what you need to do to get ready. The main thing is that three days before the ablation, I need you to stop your heart medication."

"Completely?" Now _that_ was something to be nervous about.

Simmons nodded. "I know it will probably be very uncomfortable for you, but it's imperative that we get a true reading on the day of your procedure. If you still have medication floating around in your blood stream, it will make it much harder to pinpoint the problem and eliminate it. It will probably mean that you have to take it easy for a few days, but it's important."

Blair nodded unhappily. "I understand, it's just that I have a hard time when I don't take the pills."

The doctor smiled. "Just think of it as a few days of discomfort in exchange for a cure for the problem."

"Yeah, sure, Doc. " Blair glanced down at the pamphlets again. "Is there anything else I need to know about this?"

"Anything you need to know is spelled out in those brochures. If you have any questions that come up, feel free to give me a call, but otherwise, stop your medication three days in advance, no food or liquid of any kind after midnight on the 17th, and we'll see you at Cascade General on the 18th. You'll get a call a few days ahead to tell you what time to report, and you'll also get another set of instructions in the mail within the next few days. Mostly it's just the same information in the pamphlet, but there are a few things you'll need to do to get ready – blood work and a chest x-ray; things like that."

Simmons rose to his feet, and Blair stood also. It appeared his appointment was over. "Thank you very much." He wasn't sure yet how thankful he was, but he would know for sure within a couple of weeks.

His doctor grinned and held out his hand, which Blair shook before picking up his backpack. "It was nice to meet you, Blair. Do you need help getting back out to the front?"

Blair grinned back sheepishly. "Probably. We kind of went on Safari on the way back here. I never realized how big this place actually is!"

Simmons laughed, leading the way back out to the doors to the waiting room. "There you go. Take it easy, and we'll see you on the 18th!"

Blair nodded, pushing through the door into the waiting room. Jim was still sitting in his chair, looking completely engrossed in something he was studying in the _Highlights for Kids_ magazine he was holding, but he looked up sharply as Blair headed in his direction. He dropped the magazine, blushing, and immediately stood up.

Blair grinned. "_Highlights_, Jim? Were you learning life lessons from _Goofus and Gallant_?"

Ellison blushed again. "Well I had already read everything else. Anyway, I almost found all the hidden objects in the Hidden Picture section. I only had two more to find." He returned Blair's smile. "But enough about me. How did it go? What did the doctor say? Can he help you?"

The questions were fired at Blair so quickly that the younger man didn't have a chance to answer any of them. He held up a hand to stop Jim's rapid speech. "Let me check out, and I'll tell you everything. It might take a while."

Jim followed Blair back to the middle of the waiting room, where he headed for the window marked Check-out. Fortunately, there was no one else in line, so Blair was able to go straight up to the window. He handed his license to the elderly woman behind the desk, waiting silently while she punched his information into her computer.

"Okay, Mr. Sandburg. You're all set. My instructions say you'll be getting some additional information in the mail within the next few days. Good luck!"

Blair smiled wryly. "Thanks." Reclaiming his license, he led the way back to the entrance to the building. He looked at his partner over his shoulder. "Where'd you end up parking, Jim?" Ellison was studying Blair closely and didn't seem to hear the question. Blair rolled his eyes. "Jim! I promise to tell you everything. Let's just get to the truck, alright, man? I have a lot to tell you."

The detective snapped back to attention, looking slightly guilty. "Uh, yeah, sure, Chief. It's over here." He led the way to his truck, waiting until they were both inside before turning back to Blair. "Okay, we're in the truck. Now what did the doctor say?"

Blair shook his head distractedly. "Man, I don't even know where to start. This whole day has been unbelievable. Wait, I _do_ know where to start. Doctor Simmons never even examined me!"

"What?" Jim looked at him sharply. "Why not? Wasn't that the whole point of coming today? So what _did _happen?"

Blair laughed at the expression on his partner's face. "He told me he didn't need to examine me. He got all the information he needed from the test results in my file. I'm actually kind of surprised you didn't listen in. I wondered if you would."

Jim looked a little embarrassed. "Well, I was going to, but I was afraid that I'd zone, and I didn't think that a doctor's waiting room was a great place for that to happen, at least not if we want to keep this whole Sentinel thing under wraps."

"Good call!" Blair snorted inelegantly. "Wouldn't Simon be happy if _that_ happened! I can just see his face now when they call him to tell him that his best detective is catatonic in the psych ward."

Jim chuckled. "Well, only if they carted me off before you got out here to bring me out of it. But anyway, we're getting off track here. What happened?"

Blair sighed and pulled out his now crumpled pamphlets. "Doctor Simmons said he can help me. He said I have something called Supraventricular Tachycardia." He was kind of proud of himself that he didn't stumble over the unfamiliar words. "Something called Atrial Flutter. He's gonna fix it."

"Hey, Chief!" Blair could hear the excitement in Jim's voice. "That's great! He can fix it. That's what we wanted to . . . Wait a minute. How can he fix it? Are we talking surgery here?" The excitement faded, replaced with concern.

Blair sighed again. "Not surgery, it's something called an ablation, which is _supposed _to be non-invasive, but it sure sounds invasive to me." He opened the pamphlets and explained them to his partner as well as he could.

When he was finished with his explanation, Jim was silent for a minute, mulling over the information he had just received, and then he spoke. "Wow. That's a lot of information to take in all at once. How're you handling it, Chief? I'm impressed that you made your decision so quickly."

"What decision?" Blair sighed. "I don't have a choice, unless I want to live on medication forever. And even then, I'd probably have to keep changing it like I do now. No thanks; not for me. But I have to admit, I'm a little nervous about it all."

"Completely understandable." Jim smiled impishly at his partner. "I know what will take your mind off of things. Why don't we go to Wonder Burger for lunch?"

Blair rolled his eyes. "Sure, why not? Then maybe I'll have a heart attack and won't need to worry about the ablation at all."

Ellison laughed out loud. "You're going to be fine, buddy. I'm sure of it."

*****

Jim could not believe Sandburg's luck. Less than a week until his 'non-invasive' procedure, and it was looking less likely that the younger man would live that long. Things had been going well for Blair, his medication controlling his worst symptoms, and he had not had to cut back on any of his work duties, either for the police or the university. Consequently, he had been assigned as advisor to a fourteen year old genius with an attitude, and he had also been helping Jim with a case on campus involving a dead maintenance man due to an inordinate amount of poisonous spider bites.

But then Blair's two assignments merged when his young charge, Alec Summers, got interested in Jim's case and got himself kidnapped by the murderer. Blair had tried to stop the kidnapping and now he was missing, too. Jim and the campus security chief, Suzanne Tamaki, had traced the vehicle used for the kidnapping to Bob Carlin, so now they were at the experimental farm Carlin ran looking for the two young victims.

Jim had sent Tamaki to scout the perimeter, and he stepped closer to the building, extending his hearing. His relief was palpable when he heard Blair's voice, although his partner sounded stressed. At least he was alive. But he had been concentrating so hard on Blair that he had let one of Carlin's thugs get the drop on him, and he would have been in real trouble if Suzanne had not rescued him. Unfortunately for the thug, Suzanne was a former cop and had excellent aim. This was one bad guy who would never bother anyone again.

Inside the building, it wasn't long until they ran into Bob Carlin himself, and Jim had left Suzanne covering him with her gun when he refused to tell them where the two missing men were. He wandered around the lab, keeping his hearing extended, and before long he was rewarded with Blair's voice again.

"_They're not that close to your face. They're on your jacket, but just calm down." _

_Uh-oh. _Jim moved toward the voice more quickly. That was the voice Blair used when he was terrified and trying not to let Jim know it.

"_They're too close for comfort." _That was Alec, and he wasn't even trying to act calm.

"_Just calm down. They won't hurt you." _

Jim wondered what it was that had the two younger men spooked, hoping it wasn't the spiders that had killed Turlock and started this whole investigation.

"_Oh, my god. Oh, my god. Oh, my..." _Jim's concern was growing. Alec sounded on the verge of losing it.

"_Alec, just calm down. Stay perfectly still and they won't bite you." _Now _that_ voice Jim recognized. It was the calming tones Blair used to help keep him calm and relaxed while using his senses.

"_Blair, I think I'm going to be sick."_

"_That wouldn't be good. Now I got an idea. All right? Now stay calm!" _

Jim continued to try to pinpoint where the voices were coming from, and he finally found the entrance to the hidden lab. While easing himself through the opening and onto the ladder suspended below, he listened as Blair outlined his plan to wash something off them. Alec was resistant to the plan, but Blair was adamant, and the boy finally agreed.

"_All right. Just straight back. Just like I told you." _

Jim hoped Blair knew what he was doing, but his partner was incredibly resourceful, so he had to trust that he did. If he could get down there quicker, maybe they wouldn't need to execute this risky plan.

"_Tell me when to go." _Alec sounded resigned now, and ready to do whatever was necessary.

"_There's one on your foot. Don't move your feet yet. Get off his foot!" _What? Was Blair actually talking to the bugs now? Jim moved quicker, almost down now._ "Hi, hi." _Yes, that definitely sounded like Blair was talking to _something._ He wondered again what it was.

"_Now?"_

"_No. No. No, no, no!"_

Blair sounded panicked now, and Jim felt only relief as he reached the bottom of the ladder and jumped down to the ground below. Turning around, he was momentarily frozen at the sight of the two captives tied to chairs and covered with poisonous spiders. Then he moved into action.

Grabbing a fire extinguisher from the wall, he smashed through the glass into the room at the same time as Alec tipped back to turn on the shower head. The water cascaded down on the two captives, washing the spiders off. Jim rushed into the room, heart beating frantically. That had been close. The two captives looked up at him soggily.

"_I'm drowning here."_

Alec's remark prompted Jim back to action, and he quickly turned off the water, scanning the younger men. _"Anyone hurt down here?"_

"_No, we're all right. We're all right. We're okay."_

Jim wasn't sure if Blair was trying to reassure Jim or himself as he repeated the phrases, but he decided to ignore it as he began to untie his partner. Once Blair was free, Jim turned to Alec and swiftly untied the young genius. He patted Blair on the back smugly. _"It was a good game, boys. Why don't you hit the showers?"_

"_That's funny, Jim, real funny."_

Jim wanted to say more, having just nearly lost his best friend and partner, but that wasn't the way their friendship worked. He knew that Blair knew how he felt; there was no need to actually say it. He left the two young men congratulating each other as he headed back to check on Suzanne and her prisoner.

*****

Blair scrunched into a ball on his futon, staring at the wall. It was the middle of the night, and he should have been sleeping, but every time he closed his eyes he could feel tiny legs crawling on him. He wasn't arachnophobic, at least he hadn't been before today, but that had been a close call. Having seen Turlock's body, he knew what could have happened if it hadn't been for the shower and for Jim finding them when he did.

He started, hearing a noise in the hall, but then relaxed when Jim called his name softly.

"Come on in, Jim. I'm awake." Ellison entered the room, looking uncomfortable, and sat on the edge of Blair's bed. Blair looked up at him curiously. "Well, I know why I'm awake, but why are you up? My heart's not pounding again, is it?"

Jim shook his head. "No, it's not. Your medicine is still working. I can't sleep because I keep thinking how close it was. When I got down there and saw you and Alec, and those spiders were actually walking on your chest, I nearly froze. That was really quick thinking, Chief. I don't think I could have gotten there in time to save you."

Blair laughed shortly. "Kind of makes all the worry about the ablation seem kind of silly, doesn't it? I almost didn't make it long enough to _have _the ablation."

"Well, not silly, but less significant than it was." Jim dropped a hand on Blair's shoulder briefly. "Chief, you _did_ make it through this, and you are going to make it through the ablation. I'm kind of glad they got you in so quickly, because that gives you . . . _us_ . . . less time to worry about it. Just think, next week at this time, you'll be recovering and it will all be over."

"Yeah, after today, I can't wait to get it over with. I'm just not looking forward to having to stop my medication for three days first. That's going to be the hardest part." Blair leaned back in his bed, suddenly relaxed and sleepy. "Thanks for coming down, Jim. I feel better now." He closed his eyes, letting his head snuggle more fully into his pillow. "You can go back to bed now."

Jim's hand rested against his hair for a split second, and he could hear the smile in his voice. "No, I think I'll just sit here for a few minutes. I didn't really come down here for you. You just go to sleep, Chief. I'll keep watch for a little while."

Blair's mind shut down, and his body did as it was told. Within seconds, he was sound asleep, no tiny phantom legs crawling on him, just a peaceful rest. Jim kept watch over him for several minutes before finally returning to his own room, satisfied that his guide was going to be fine.

**_Thanks again for sticking with me. This story was originally not supposed to be this long, but it keeps adding things on me when I'm not looking. I hope to have the next chapter up soon. As always, please review and let me know what you think!_**


	10. Chapter 10

_**I'm finally done with chapter 10. It continued to add to itself, and I couldn't seem to stop writing, so it's a bit longer than the rest, but here it is anyway. Thanks again for continuing to read and review! **_

_**March 8, 1996**_

Blair stepped out of the elevator and headed for Jim's desk, gripping his backpack tightly in his left hand. He ran his right hand through disheveled curls, shaking his head distractedly.

Ellison looked up at him as he approached, and Blair knew that his partner had probably registered his presence before he had even gotten off the elevator. "What's up, Chief?"

The grad student sat down in his usual chair beside the desk, setting the backpack down gently. "I'm just frustrated, man. I just got a call from the cardiologist's office, and they have to reschedule my ablation. I guess that Doctor Simmons has to be out of town for some seminar or award or something on the 18th, so they're pushing me back to the 21st. I just wanted to get this thing over with!"

Ellison patted his partner on the back sympathetically. "I know you're frustrated, but at least it's only a few days later. I'm sure it will be here before you know it."

_**March 18, 1996**_

"Are you going to answer that, Chief?"

Blair looked up from the report he was working on. "Huh? Oh, yeah." He dug out his phone and answered. "Hello . . . Yes . . . Okay. . . Thank you, I will. Goodbye." Shoving his phone back into his backpack, he sighed, looking defeated.

"What was that all about?" Jim was trying very hard to give Blair his privacy, so he was making every attempt to avoid eavesdropping on telephone calls.

Blair shrugged. "That was Doctor Simmons' office again. Just a friendly reminder that today is the day I have to stop taking all my heart meds. I can't even believe that I'm upset about that. I mean, just look how hard I fought to not start taking them in the first place! Now I'm upset that they want me to stop."

Jim smiled sympathetically. "I hear you, Chief, but you know this is only temporary. After another couple of weeks, you'll be feeling better than you have for a long time. You've just got to keep telling yourself that."

"Yeah, I know." Blair pushed his backpack back under the desk and scraped his chair in closer. "In the meantime, what else can I do to help? I'm done with this report."

"There you go. Good attitude! Let's keep you busy so we can keep your mind off things. I just happen to have this whole other pile of reports to take care of . . ."

"That's just great, Jim. Thanks." Blair's sarcasm was obvious. He sighed. "Fine. Pass one over here."

*****

"Hey, Chief. How're you feeling?" Jim sat down beside Blair on the sofa where the grad student was grading papers.

Blair looked up with a grimace. "I guess not too bad so far. I can definitely tell I'm not taking the medicine; I'm feeling tired a lot, and I've been having a lot of palpitations. But so far it's just annoying. I don't think it will keep me from helping with your cases."

"Well, let's just take it one step at a time. We'll try to take it easy, and if it gets to be too much for you, let me know. I don't want you taking any chances now that we're this close to getting this fixed."

Blair nodded, running his hand through his hair wearily. "Yeah, trust me, Jim. You _so_ don't need to worry about me overdoing it! I just want to get this over with, and if I mess it up now, it'll never happen."

Jim nodded. "Hey, I invited Simon over for dinner tonight. You okay with that?"

"Yeah, sure. Just let me finish up these last few papers and I'll get started on it." Blair looked back down to his work, picking up the next paper.

"No, buddy, that wasn't a hint for you to cook. I've got it covered; I'm grilling on the balcony. You're good; just keep doing what you're doing." Ellison slapped his partner on the back, and headed back to the kitchen. "Dinner will be ready in half an hour."

Blair shrugged, grateful for a little extra time to work. He had a whole folder of papers left to grade, and he hadn't even started preparing for tomorrow's classes. Sometimes he wondered how he kept up with everything, and it was only going to get worse now that he would be out of commission for a week or more.

He was so engrossed in his work that it barely registered when Simon's deep bass voice joined Jim's on the balcony. He looked up, startled. When had he arrived? He must have really been concentrating hard to not notice a knock at the door. He carefully marked his place in the paper he was reading, then stood and headed for the balcony.

"Hey, Simon. Sorry I didn't hear you knock." He joined the two men already on the balcony, sneaking a mushroom off the platter Jim had sitting there.

Banks chuckled. "That's because I didn't. Your partner, the 'human crime lab', heard me coming and let me in before I could disturb the genius at work."

"Oh." Blair flushed self-consciously. "Thanks, man."

Jim smiled. "No problem. I know you have to get as much done as possible before the big day."

Simon studied Blair closely. "Yeah, how's that going, Sandburg? Are you feeling okay? Jim told me you had to stop your medication. Are you having any problems?"

Blair shook his head. "Not really; at least not yet. I'm hoping it stays that way! I need to keep busy right up until the 21st, or I'm going to get ridiculously behind."

"Well you just take it easy. We don't need you pushing yourself too hard and getting sick." Simon patted Blair on the shoulder and then looked at Jim. "Are those steaks about done yet, Jim? I'm starved!"

Ellison smiled fondly. "Coming right up, sir. Yours should be just the way you like it, just slightly pink in the middle. I'll put the mushrooms and onions on next, and then we'll be ready."

Blair relaxed, enjoying the time spent with his partner and their friend. They sat out on the balcony, enjoying the unusually warm March weather along with Jim's delicious offering of grilled steaks and baked potatoes. While the conversation swirled around him, Blair leaned back and savored the moment, knowing it may be the last such moment for a while.

_**March 19, 1996**_

The loud buzzing of the alarm clock startled Blair from a deep sleep. He sat straight up in bed, heart pounding heavily. It took him a minute to figure out what had woken him, and then he took a deep breath and tried to relax, willing his heart to slow down. Turning off the alarm, he sighed. No snooze today. After the way his heart had taken off when he had woken so suddenly, he knew he would never get back to sleep.

Moving slowly, he crawled out of bed and staggered unsteadily into the living room, grunting something unintelligible in response to Jim's greeting. He continued on into the bathroom and turned on the shower. Maybe a warm shower would relax him. Stepping under the spray, he grimaced. Because he wasn't taking his medication, he couldn't get the water very warm, so instead of relaxing him, it merely woke him up the rest of the way, but at least he felt refreshed when he got out. Dressing quickly, he headed back out to the living room.

Jim was waiting for him, watching the morning news on television. "How're you feeling, Chief?"

Blair rolled his eyes. "Is anyone planning to ask me anything other than how I'm feeling for the next couple of days? If I can't handle it, I'll let you know."

Ellison chuckled. "Okay, okay. Take it easy. I was just asking." He took a sip of his coffee and peered up at his partner. "So what's on your agenda for today?"

Blair sat down beside him on the sofa. "Well, today I'm concentrating mostly on Rainier. I have two classes I can't miss this morning. After that, my Anthro 101 kids have a paper to turn in, and I have office hours today, so I'll probably be spending most of the day in my office. Did you need me for anything?"

Ellison shook his head. "Not that I couldn't use your help with some more reports, but other than that, I don't really have anything special going on. I think that I might have a couple of witness interviews today at the station, but Simon will be there if I need any help. You just take it easy today and get done what you need to do at the University. If you feel up to it tomorrow, I could use some help at the station with those reports, but if you aren't feeling well enough, don't worry about it."

Blair nodded, standing up. "Okay. Well, I want to head over to my office to get started. Just let me know if you need anything."

He grabbed his backpack and headed for the door, reaching to snag his keys from the bowl on the counter on his way by. When he came up empty, he turned to Jim sheepishly. "Um, I forgot I don't have a car. Could you give me a ride?"

Jim chuckled and followed him out the door. In the hall, they headed straight for the elevator, since Blair knew better than to try the stairs when he was not medicated. His heart was definitely acting up today, and he only hoped it didn't get so bad he couldn't handle it.

*****

"Mr. Sandburg?"

At the tentative voice, Blair lifted his head off his crossed arms and looked blearily at the figure in his doorway. Seeing that it was Joseph Branscome, one of his better students, he made a concerted effort to wake up from his brief power nap.

"Hey, Joseph. Come on in and have a seat. What can I do for you?" He forced a smile, blinking the sleep from his eyes. Amazingly, the 15 minute nap had actually seemed to help.

He had been fine during his two graduate classes, keeping his mind off of his escalating heart rate by taking copious notes; but by the time he was ready to teach his Anthro101 class, he had been starting to get tired, and his heart let him know that. By the time his class was over, his whole body was throbbing with the pounding of his heart, and he was starting to feel very fatigued. He had forced himself to eat a salad for lunch and then had rested his head on his arms for a power nap until his office hours started.

Now it was time to move on to the next segment of his day. Normally, he loved office hours, being the social creature that he was, but today he was hoping that not too many of his students would need his help.

Joseph stepped into Blair's office and accepted the indicated chair. "Well, I have some questions about your lecture this morning. But . . . pardon me for saying so, but you don't look so well."

Blair smiled at Joseph's wording. He sounded like the son of a blue blood that he was, boarding school upbringing included. "I'm fine, Joseph. Thanks for asking. Now about those questions?"

Joseph nodded politely, and then launched into his questions. Blair always enjoyed Joseph's questions. The young man may have been born with a silver spoon in his mouth, so to speak, but he had also been born with an intelligent mind. Blair suspected that Joseph would go far in life; between his mind and his wealth, he could pretty much do whatever he wanted with his life.

The two scholars discussed the morning's lecture for the next thirty minutes, and when Joseph's final question had been answered, Blair was actually disappointed. He had not only enjoyed the lively discussion; it had been keeping his mind off of his rapidly declining energy.

"Thanks, Mr. Sandburg. I'm much more comfortable with the material now. Thank you for taking time to help me." Joseph waved as he exited the room.

Blair sighed. That discussion had been invigorating, but now he had time to think about how lousy he felt. The palpitations were worsening, and if he sat still, he could see his hair moving with every beat of his heart. It was going to be a long afternoon.

"Mr. Sandburg?"

_Okay, round two_. Blair plastered a smile on his face and looked up to greet his next student. His heart sank. Another wealthy student, but this one was using her wealth to coast through life. She had never shown any interest or aptitude for anthropology and was currently failing the class. Blair suspected that if she were to actually put her mind to it, she could be at least an average student, but she had no interest in that area. "Hi, Miranda. Come on in and have a seat. What can I do for you?"

Miranda Taylor sashayed into the office, the scent of her strong perfume preceding her. Blair had a fleeting thought that it was a good thing Jim wasn't here, or he would really have to dial down his sense of smell. She brushed a strand of her perfectly coiffed blond hair behind her ear in a move that was obviously designed to make the observer notice. She was a beautiful girl and had the money to dress to impress, but Blair was still left cold. Mostly, Miranda annoyed him with her lack of interest in anything academic and her shallow empty lifestyle.

He had to fight the urge to roll his eyes when the young woman sat down gracefully in the offered chair, crossing her legs under her short skirt. She was obviously after something, with this rather blatant attempt at sensuality. "What can I do for you, Miranda?" he repeated politely.

Miranda leaned back in the chair, seeing that she wasn't getting anywhere. "Mr. Sandburg, I need to pass your class."

"I would be happy to set you up with a tutor. If you do some extra credit work, I'm sure we can bring your grade up."

"Well, you don't understand. I don't have time for that kind of thing. But my daddy will kill me if I don't pass. Is there . . . some _other _way we could work it out?" She batted her eyelashes at him, smiling hopefully.

Blair fought to keep his cool. Great, just what he needed on a day when he wasn't feeling well. One of his students was either propositioning him or offering to bribe him. Either way, it was not something he really wanted to deal with on a good day, let alone when he wasn't feeling his best. He could feel his heart rate accelerate just thinking about the mess this could turn into.

"Miranda, I'm not quite sure I understand what you're suggesting, but there is only one way to pass my class, and that is to do the work. I'm sure you understand that. If you would like the extra credit work or a tutor, I'll be happy to set you up with that, but anything else is out of the question."

Miranda's seductive smile disappeared, replaced by a petulant sneer. "I don't think you realize how important my father is. If I were to tell him that you tried to force yourself on me, your career would be over. You'd probably end up in jail. What do you think about that?"

Blair's heart jumped into overdrive, and he had to fight to keep taking deep breaths. This was _so _not what he needed today. He wasn't even sure how to answer her. He was not going to pass her without doing the work, not even if he lost his job over it.

"I think it's a good thing that Mr. Sandburg has a witness to the fact that you just propositioned and then threatened him. That's what I think."

Both Blair and Miranda looked up, startled, toward the unexpected voice that sounded from the doorway. Angie Lorenzo stood there, eyes flashing dangerously as she glared at the younger woman.

Miranda paled dramatically and rose to her feet. "Um, maybe I could talk to you another time about the tutor thing. I'm sorry to have bothered you." She quickly exited the room, making a wide berth around Angie as she left.

Blair looked at Angie gratefully. "Thank you so much! I wasn't quite sure how I was going to get out of that one."

Angie sat down in Miranda's vacated chair. She studied her friend seriously for a minute, and then leaned back. "Blair, can I be honest with you?" At his nod, she continued. "You look like crap. You look exhausted, you're pale, you have dark circles under your eyes, and this was the last thing you needed today. I know you're trying to make it without your medication until you have your procedure, but I think you need to call it a day."

Blair sighed. Angie was one of the few TAsthat he was close enough to that she knew what was going on with him. She had been there the day his heart troubles had started eighteen months ago, and it was kind of fitting that she was here now. "You're right. I think I'll skip the rest of my office hours and head home. I might even squeeze in a nap before Jim gets home from the station."

Angie nodded solemnly. "I know you won't be here tomorrow, so I'll tell you now that I'll be keeping my fingers crossed that everything works out on Thursday. I'm sure you'll be back to your old self in no time."

"Thanks, Angie. I appreciate it, and thanks again for your help with Miranda. It was lucky for me you happened to be walking by." Blair stood wearily to his feet.

Angie stood also, smiling impishly. "Well . . .actually it wasn't so much luck. Jim asked a few of us to keep an eye on you today."

Blair chuckled, not really surprised at this news. It definitely sounded like something Jim would do. "Well, thanks anyway." He came around his desk and gave Angie a quick hug. "I'll see you soon."

Angie hugged him back and headed for the door. "Go home."

Blair laughed. "I'm out of here. Don't worry; I've definitely had enough!"

Angie waved and left the way she had come, and Blair gathered up his books and papers and stuffed them back into his backpack. Shutting off the light, he locked the door to his office and headed slowly back out to the parking lot. Once he got there, he sighed as he remembered that he didn't have a car. Jim had dropped him off this morning, and he was supposed to call when he was ready to go home.

He walked back into the courtyard in front of Hargrove Hall and sat down on one of the low stone benches that ringed the fountain. Pulling out his phone, he dialed and waited for Ellison to answer.

"_Ellison_."

"Hey, Jim. It's me." Blair rested his elbow on his knee and his head in his hand.

"_Hey, Chief. You okay?"_

Blair laughed shortly. "I told you to stop asking me that!" He sighed again. "But no, I guess not. I had kind of a rough day. I hate to ask, but could you come. . ." He trailed off as Jim's truck pulled up beside him. "How did you know?"

Jim smiled mischievously as he got out of the truck. "Angie called me. I figured you'd need a ride." He grabbed Blair's backpack and opened the passenger door. "Hop in, and I'll take you home."

Blair stood up and walked slowly to the truck, climbing carefully into the passenger seat. He felt like an invalid with the way everyone was treating him, but he supposed that he might as well get used to it since it appeared that he was going to be feeling that way for a while.

_**March 20, 1996 **_

"Hey, buddy, I know you don't want to hear this, but are you sure you feel okay?" Jim sat down at his desk, studying his partner carefully. "Maybe you should have stayed home today."

Blair lifted his head from the report he was working on, glaring at Ellison. "Jim, if I didn't feel up to it, I would have stayed home_. Yes_, I feel like crap. But if I'm going to feel like crap anyway, I might as well do it here so I don't go crazy staring at the walls at the loft."

"Okay, okay." Ellison soothed, holding up a hand. "I didn't mean to upset you. I'm just concerned, okay? Is that a crime?"

Sandburg smiled despite his best efforts. "No," he admitted grudgingly. "I know you're concerned, and I appreciate it. I just can't sit at home when I could be here helping."

"Ellison, my office!" Simon poked his head out of his office, and then retreated.

Jim exchanged glances with Blair, standing up. "I'll be right back."

Blair nodded, watching passively as Jim disappeared into Simon's office and the door closed. He briefly hoped they weren't talking about him, but then turned his attention back to his report. He had only been working for another few minutes when the door opened, and Jim returned to his desk, purpose in his stride.

"Chief, I have to go. We may have a break in the Torres case, but I need to go out and talk to a couple of his employees at his accounting firm. I'll be back soon."

Blair shook his head stubbornly. "No way, man. I'm coming with you. I promise I'll stay in the truck, but you are not going out there without backup."

"Absolutely not!" Jim shook his head. "I am not taking you out in the field today. The last thing you need is that stress. I'll be fine."

"Come on, man, didn't you hear me? I said I'd stay in the truck. I just need to be there, in case you need me. "

Jim ran a hand through his hair, glaring at his partner. "Fine. But you stay in the truck."

Blair grinned. "I said I would, didn't I?"

*****

Blair leaned back in the passenger seat of Jim's truck, wishing he felt better. He didn't like Jim going in by himself, especially in the Torres case. They suspected he had been set up for the smuggling charge he had been arrested for, but unfortunately Torres had not survived his stay in the county lockup. Somebody definitely did not want the man talking. Now the Major Crimes crew was trying to prove his innocence to give his family some peace.

It appeared that someone Torres had employed may have been the one behind the setup, and they had narrowed down the suspects to two possibles, Trevor Wilson and Parker Michaels . Henry and Rafe were keeping Wilson under observation, but Michaels appeared to have dropped off the face of the earth. Jim was going in to talk to a couple of the other employees at the firm to see if they had any information on either of the suspects. He should be okay, but Blair just hated to have him out completely on his own while he could still function well enough to be backup. He was going to be out of commission for at least a week; he hated to start sooner if he didn't have to.

He shifted on the seat, trying to get comfortable. Jim had been inside for several minutes already, and Blair had been watching the comings and goings into the accounting firm. The building was a strip mall, also housing a bank, doctor and dentist offices and a realtor. Jim had parked directly in front of Torres' accounting firm, so that Blair had a straight shot into the building and could keep tabs on his partner.

He really couldn't wait for tomorrow to come. While he was very nervous about having the ablation done, at least he should feel better than this once it was over. He didn't want Jim to know, but his condition had definitely deteriorated today. His body was throbbing so strongly that he felt like he was swaying on the seat, his hair swinging with every beat of his heart. He was actually surprised Jim had given in and let him come along. He knew his partner had to have seen the visible evidence of his affliction.

He felt extremely fatigued and wanted nothing more than to go to sleep, but that would not be classified as being useful. He looked in the plate glass window in the front of the building, and he could still see Jim talking to two of the employees. His body language indicated that he was alert but not overly concerned with the situation, so things must be going fairly well.

He was idly watching the people walking by the building when he spotted Parker Michaels, the missing suspect, heading up the sidewalk toward the building. He pulled his phone out and dialed Jim's number immediately, his heart in his throat. He jumped when he heard the phone ringing on the seat beside him. How could Jim have forgotten to take his phone today of all days?

Michaelscontinued up the walk toward the building until he spotted the detective inside talking to his coworkers. He stopped abruptly, did an about face and headed back in the direction he had come. Blair knew the police had been looking for Michaels but had not been able to find him. Without thinking, he opened the door to the truck and got out, calling Simon as he walked.

"_Banks._"

"Simon, it's Blair. Jim's in the building withtwo of the coworkers and I can't get in contact with him, at least not in time. Michaels just showed up and he saw Jim and took off. I'm following him until someone can get here."

"_What?"_

Blair winced and pulled the phone away from his ear at Simon's roar. "I'm sorry, Simon. I just don't want to lose him. Jim's going to be concentrating on the two suspects, checking heart rates to see if they're lying. He won't hear me if I yell for him. Don't worry, I won't get close. I just want to see where he's going."

Blair could hear some kind of commotion in the background on Simon's end, and then the captain's voice was back_. "Sandburg, you make sure you stay back. The last thing we need is Michaels spotting you. Now which way is he going?"_

Blair looked around and spotted the street sign. "I'm walking north on Cottage Rd. He just passed the intersection at Front St."

"_Okay. You hang in there. We're getting backup to you as quickly as possible. Stay on the line with me and keep me updated on your location."_

"Right." Blair kept the phone at his ear as he continued to follow Michaels. The farther he walked, the worse he felt, but he didn't think he needed to fill Simon in on that little tidbit.

"_Sandburg, are you okay?"_

It wasn't really a lie, just an obfuscation. "Yeah,man. I'll be fine. Why?"

"_You sound out of breath. Are you running?"_

"No way!" Sandburg was emphatic about that. "I wouldn't do that. I know . . . how stupid that would be. I'm . . . just walking." He tried not to think about the fact that he really was getting short of breath now. He continued following Michaels, trying to keep his mind off of anything else.

"_Where are you now?"_

Blair looked around wildly. It was a lot harder to read the street signs this time; his eyes had started to blur. He blinked, trying to clear his vision. "Um . . . I'm coming up on . . . uh . . . "

"_Sandburg!" _Simon's voice was sharp with concern, and Blair heard that strange commotion on the other end of the line again.

He shook his head woozily, his steps slowing automatically as he tried to regain his balance. Squinting, he saw Michaels cross another street, and he lurched forward, still trying to keep him in sight. "Simon, he just . . . went across . . . um . . . Second Street. Is that . . . backup coming . . . soon? I don't . . . think I can . . . keep up much . . .longer."

"_It's okay, Blair. Stop now. We'll take it from here. Just stop!"_

_Wow. Did Simon just call me Blair? Something must be wrong. _Blair staggered after Michaels, not really registering what Banks had just ordered him to do. He almost tripped as he stepped off the curb, caught his balance, and continued into the intersection. He almost thought he heard Jim's voice behind him, calling his name, but that wasn't possible, was it?

He was actually starting to hear his own heartbeat. Was this how Jim felt, with his sensitive hearing and touch? He slowed even more as his vision got worse; he was seeing spots now, and he was afraid he might throw up. This was starting to feel familiar. When had he felt like this before? He was in the middle of the intersection now, and he flinched as his fingers opened of their own accord, and the phone clattered to the ground. He stopped, swaying, intending to lean down to retrieve it, but he lost his balance and crashed to the ground. His eyes closed despite his best efforts to keep them open, and the last thing he heard was Jim's panicked voice.

"Blair!"

*****

Blair came awake slowly, trying to figure out what was going on. Something didn't seem right. Wasn't he doing something? He shifted his head restlessly and stilled suddenly. He was leaning against someone's leg. What had happened? He opened his eyes, blinking slowly. There were flashing lights and faces and legs and confusion. He closed his eyes again; dark and quiet was better.

"Blair, are you in there?"

Jim's concerned voice brought the young observer's eyes open again. Jim sounded scared. Detective Jim Ellison was never scared. He definitely needed to find out what was going on. "Jim?" It was only after he spoke that he realized that he was wearing an oxygen mask, muffling his voice. "What's going on?" He reached up weakly, trying to push the mask off.

Jim grabbed his arm, stopping him, and smiled down at him shakily. "Welcome back, buddy. What's going on? You just about gave me a heart attack, that's what's going on. Remember how you said Doctor Simmons told you that the only way your arrhythmias would be fatal would be if you passed out crossing a street? Well, you just did it! If I hadn't been right behind you to pull you to the curb, you would have been run over."

Blair was becoming more alert now, and his heart quickened as he realized what had almost happened. "Thanks. Wait . . . Michaels! What happened to Michaels?"

"Take it easy, Chief. Michaels is in a police car on the way to the station for questioning. Simon had Rhonda call me at Torres' accounting firm to tell me what was going on, and I took off after you, but he also had Rafe and Henry divert here to pick up Michaels. He's definitely acting suspicious, so I think he's our man."

"Sir, we should really get him to the hospital."

Blair looked up, surprised to see that he once again had paramedics on either side of him. One of them grasped his arm firmly and bent to find a vein for an IV. Blair pulled his arm away sharply. "No way, man. I'm going to be in the hospital tomorrow. I'm not going today, too! I just need to rest. I didn't get hit by a car, so I should be fine now. Tell him, Jim. I just want to go home and sleep."

Jim looked up at the paramedics. "If he takes it easy, I think he'll be okay. He's having a cardiac ablation in the morning."

One of the paramedics shrugged. "Fine, but I need you to sign a paper saying that you're refusing treatment."

Blair nodded. "Where do I sign?" He was definitely not going to spend the night in the emergency room. He removed the oxygen mask, already starting to feel a little better from the extra help breathing. He grabbed a handful of Jim's sweater and pulled himself up slowly to a sitting position. When the paramedic offered him a form and a pen, he immediately scribbled his name at the bottom. "Can we go home now? This is embarrassing."

Jim chuckled, starting to relax. "Come on, Lone Ranger. Let's get you to the truck." He helped Blair to his feet, aided by one of the paramedics. Together the two men got him upright and half carried him to the truck, which seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. Jim saw his puzzled gaze and smiled. "I cheated. I drove."

Blair gave him a half hearted grin and allowed himself to be lifted into the truck. When Jim leaned across him to fasten his seat-belt, he slapped Jim's hand away irritably. "Enough. I can do it myself."

Jim backed off, raising both hands in surrender. "Okay, okay, Chief. Have it your way. Do it yourself, and then sit back and relax. I'm taking you home, and you're going to bed. You've scared me enough for one day."

Blair fumbled with his seat-belt, finally hooking it, and then leaned his head back in the seat. Well, day three was definitely turning out to be interesting anyway. He could hardly wait for tomorrow.

**_So next chapter Blair goes to the hospital. Thanks so much for your continued support on this story! You're awesome._**


	11. Chapter 11

**_My sincere apologies for the delay in getting this next chapter out to you. RL has been kicking my butt lately. I lost a very good friend and coworker two weeks ago today, and that loss has overshadowed everything else. Then, probably because of the stress and lack of sleep since then, I got the flu. I'm still recovering from that, but at least I finally feel up to typing! This chapter is short, and I apologize for that, too, but I wanted to post something so you don't think I have lost interest in writing the remainder of this story. Thanks again to my loyal readers! You are all awesome, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your wonderful reviews!_**

**_This chapter has no spoilers. _**

Blair could feel Jim's eyes on him, even without looking. He kept his gaze down, pretending to concentrate on something fascinating on the floor. Maybe if he didn't acknowledge him, Jim would drop it. _Yeah, right. And pigs really do fly._

"You do realize how stupid that was, don't you?"

Blair had been so busy trying to ignore his partner that he jumped at the intrusion in the uneasy silence that had filled the truck. He chanced a quick glance up at Jim, dropping his eyes quickly at the look on his face. "I'm sorry. I know it was stupid, but he was getting away!"

"Chief. . ." Jim scrubbed a hand roughly across his face, taking a deep breath. "Chief, you just came about as close as I hope you'll ever come to dying. If I hadn't been right behind you, you would have been a hood ornament! You passed out in the middle of the street! Do you realize how serious this is?"

Blair sagged against the seat, glancing out the side window morosely. "Yes. I'm really sorry I scared you, man. I just saw him getting away, and you didn't have your phone. I just wanted to help. I wasn't really thinking, I guess."

Jim sighed and started the engine. "I know. Let's get you back to the loft so you can get some rest. I can't wait until this ablation is over with."

*****

"Hey, Jim." Simon stepped into the loft, gaze locked on the sleeping anthropologist on the sofa. He chuckled. "Well, at least he looks comfortable."

Blair was sprawled on his side, one arm under his head, the other dangling limply off the sofa. His hair covered half of his face, and his mouth was slightly open.

Jim grinned. "He better not drool on my couch. He's been sleeping for a couple of hours. I'll probably wake him up soon, so he doesn't stay up all night tonight. Tomorrow's a big day!"

Simon nodded, sobering. "I'm sure he'll be glad to get that over with. I know how much he hates not being able to keep up with you."

"Yeah. Well that's all going to be behind him. I have a good feeling about this procedure. " He studied his partner for a moment, then visibly shook himself. "Did you want some dinner? A drink? I was planning to wake him up for something to eat soon, but he was so tired after his _adventure_ this afternoon that I'd rather let him sleep."

Simon chuckled. "An adventure. That's a good way to put it. I about had a heart attack myself when he called me and told me he was pursuing our suspect . . . _on foot_! Sometimes I think he's got more guts than half the cops on the force."

Jim nodded, smiling wryly. "Yeah, and about half as much self preservation. Kinda scares me to think what he could do if he actually _was_ a cop."

Simon laughed out loud at that. "God forbid we ever find out!" He shook his head. "About dinner, thanks for the offer, but I need to get home. I promised Darryl I would help him with a report for school. I just wanted to stop in to see how our hero was doing. And besides, I think Sleeping Beauty over there needs to get some rest for tomorrow. I'll take a rain check."

Jim nodded, following his boss to the door. "Well, thanks for stopping by, sir. I'll let you know how things go tomorrow. "

Simon grinned. "You do that, Jim. But if you ever tell him I was worried about him, I'll deny it!"

"Not a word, sir. Have a good night." Ellison watched as Simon walked to the elevator. Once the elevator doors had closed behind him, he closed and locked the door, looking at this partner on the sofa. "I won't have to say a word."

Sandburg grinned, sitting up. "Aw, man. I can't ever pull anything over on you. How long have you known I was awake?"

Jim headed for the kitchen, shaking his head. "I figured it out right before I said you'd better not drool on the couch. I figured we woke you up talking."

Sandburg got to his feet, wobbling a little. "Simon's worried about me, huh? Good to know."

"Sit down!" Ellison barked the order, coming around the island from the kitchen. "Did you not learn anything from this afternoon? You are going to take it easy tonight, and you are going to bed early. Then in the morning we will take care of this whole situation. Got it?"

Sandburg eased back down onto the sofa sheepishly. "Got it."

*****

"So . . . are you ready for this?" Ellison glanced over at Blair, who was huddled up on the front seat of the truck, trying to keep warm.

Blair shivered miserably. It was only 5AM, and the darkness was punctuated by a cold spring rain. What a horrible morning to have to get up so early. And he couldn't even have any coffee. Life was not fair! His instructions had not only included the chest X-ray and blood tests he had submitted to earlier in the week, but he had not been allowed to have anything to eat or drink after midnight.

He rubbed blearily at his eyes. "I guess. I just want it over with."

Jim squeezed his arm gently. "Hang in there, Chief. You're almost there. "

The headlights cut through the heavy rain as Jim pulled the truck up to the Emergency entrance at Cascade General. Jim watched patiently as Blair slowly climbed out of the truck and headed through the pouring rain toward the doors, which hissed open as he approached. Blair glanced back at his partner as Jim once again left him to park the truck.

Blair's instructions had requested that he enter the hospital through the Emergency Room entrance, since the main entrance of the hospital would not be available this early in the morning. Then he was to follow the signs for the cardiology wing. Once he checked in with the receptionist, they would take it from there. He briefly debated on waiting for Jim, but he really didn't want to stay on his feet any longer than he had to; he was exhausted this morning.

The Emergency Room was full, even this early in the morning, and Blair gladly walked past all of the waiting patients to the hallway leading to the cardiology wing. He was walking slowly, trying not to tire himself out too much, so Jim had caught up to him by the time he reached the receptionist's desk. Fortunately there was no line here, and the receptionist looked up with a smile.

"Good morning. Can I help you?" She brushed her blonde hair behind one ear as she smiled up at the young patient.

Blair forced a weary smile. "Blair Sandburg. I have a 6:30 appointment?"

He watched the receptionist as she typed efficiently on her keyboard. She was altogether too alert and professional for this early in the morning. He leaned heavily up against the desk, resting his elbow on the counter, and propping his head up. He could go back to sleep standing here. In fact, that wasn't such a bad idea. . .

"Chief?" Jim shook him gently. "Wait until we get you settled in, okay?"

Blair made a visible effort to shake off the lethargy that crept through him and straightened up to his full height. The receptionist was watching him sympathetically. Confused, he spotted his driver's license and insurance card on the counter top. Jim was holding his backpack in the hand that wasn't currently resting on Blair's shoulder.

"Mr. Sandburg, I just need your signature here. Your friend took care of everything else." The young woman held out a pen to the shaky anthropologist.

Blair took the pen and scribbled his name on the forms, trusting Jim to have taken care of everything else. Signing the form seemed to be the final step needed, because as soon as he did, another woman came out from behind the desk and led them into a small room.

"Okay, Mr. Sandburg. I need you to take everything off and put this gown on. Make sure you're not wearing any jewelry. You might want to use the bathroom before they come to get you. Someone will be in shortly."

Blair nodded, blushing. He took the proffered gown and slipped into the small attached bathroom. Once he was changed and had verified that he hadn't missed removing any jewelry, he headed back into the room, glancing at Jim wearily. Ellison had already pulled the covers back on the bed and was waiting quietly for him in the lone chair in the room.

Blair climbed into the bed and rested back against the pillows, too nervous now to sleep. Jim smiled wryly.

"Now you can rest."

Blair snorted. "Yeah, right."

A tap at the door interrupted whatever Jim had been about to say. Two orderlies stepped into the room. "Blair Sandburg?" At Blair's nod, the two men stepped over to the bed. "We're going to take you up to the lab now. "

Jim stood up, watching impassively as the two men unlocked the wheels on the bed and rolled it toward the door. Blair kept his eyes locked on his partner as he was moved out into the hallway.

"Hey, I'll see you later. Don't worry about a thing. Everything's going to be fine, and you'll be good as new soon."

Blair nodded, heart pounding in earnest now. This was it, and he wasn't sure he was ready for it. "Yeah, I'll see you later."

As his bed was rolled down the hall toward the banks of elevators, the last thing he saw was Jim, standing in the middle of the hallway, looking back at Blair with an encouraging smile. And then they were in the elevator, and even that encouraging sight was gone.

**_TBC . . ._**

**_I have already started working on chapter 12, and I hope to have it up this weekend. I have discovered that Sundays are the best days to write! Thanks again for reading. Please review and let me know what you think. _**


	12. Chapter 12

**_Well, it wasn't the weekend, but at least I was close this time! Thanks again for your continued support! No major spoilers this time, just a vague reference to Blind Man's Bluff, which I already spoiled several chapters ago. :-)_**

Jim stood in the middle of the hallway, watching until Blair disappeared into the elevator, then he headed back into Blair's room, shoulders slumped. This was going to be a long morning. He glanced at the empty spot where the bed should be and sat back down in his chair. He knew from the written instructions Blair had received that if everything went well, Blair would be brought back here to rest for four to six hours after he got out of recovery. Then Jim would be able to take him home to recuperate.

In the meantime, he should have brought something to do to keep occupied. He sighed; maybe he should run by the station to see if there were any files he could bring to go over while he was waiting. He wasn't sure why he hadn't thought of that last night. He had originally planned to do that, but Blair's little stunt the day before had scared him, and he had gone straight home instead of going back to the station after the paramedics had released his partner.

A hesitant knock at the door interrupted his thoughts. He looked up with a start. Simon stood in the doorway of Blair's room, a pile of manila folders in his arms.

"I guess I found the right place." Simon grinned and walked into the room, dragging a chair from the other wall. "Did the kid get off okay?"

Jim nodded, speechless at the Captain's unexpected presence. He stood up, smiling in relief. "Yes, sir. He just went up a few minutes ago."

Simon nodded, sitting down. "Well, while you have the time, there are a few things I wanted to go over with you to clean up the Torres case, and I brought a few other files along since I have a captive audience." He grinned wickedly. "Joel, Henri and Rafe can take care of themselves for a while. They're all working on paperwork this morning, and I told Rhonda to hold my calls."

"Sir, I don't know what to say." Jim sat back down in his chair, grateful and relieved that he would not have to wait alone.

Simon's grin softened. "Don't say anything, Jim. Let's just see how many of these files we can get through this morning. Did they say how long it should take?"

"Well, I guess if everything goes well, the procedure should take between four and six hours and then he'll go to recovery for a while. Depending on how things go and how well he does in recovery, he'll hopefully be brought back here for another four to six hours of observation and laying flat. But I guess if they have any issues with either the procedure or recovery, he might end up being admitted overnight."

"Well, we'll just hope nothing goes wrong." Simon opened one of the folders and scooted his chair a little closer to Jim. "Okay, now about the Torres case . . ."

*****

Blair closed his eyes, swallowing hard as his rolling bed was pushed into a large room filled with equipment and monitors. Several men and women wearing scrubs, surgical masks, surgical caps and sterile gloves were busily at work preparing things for the procedure. The two orderlies stopped the bed just inside the entrance to the room.

"Okay, this is as far as we go." One of the orderlies smiled at Blair. "They'll take good care of you from here." He double checked the hospital bracelet the nurse had snapped around his wrist when he checked in. "Okay, people, I have Blair Sandburg here for you."

A young woman wearing scrubs and a hat stepped over to Blair's side; a surgical mask dangled around her neck. "Okay, thank you, guys." She laid a gloved hand on Blair's upper arm. "Hi, Blair. I'm Stephanie, and I'm going to get you ready. How are you doing?"

Blair looked up at her with a nervous laugh. "Well, okay, I guess. I'm afraid to even ask how you're going to do that."

Stephanie smiled. "Well, you don't have to ask. I'll tell you what we're doing every step of the way. We don't want any surprises." She pulled up an IV stand beside the bed. "First I have to ask you if you have had anything to eat or drink since midnight."

Blair shook his head. "Actually I had kind of a rough day yesterday and went to bed early. So I haven't had anything to eat or drink since about ten o'clock last night."

"Okay, good. " Stephanie grabbed a cotton pad and some alcohol. "The next thing I'm going to do is get you set up with an IV. We'll be using it to keep you hydrated throughout the procedure, and we can also give you any medication we need to through there. We'll be giving you something to help you relax before we get started. You might sleep, depending on how the medication affects you."

Blair looked away while Stephanie found a vein in the back of his hand and set up the IV. "Man, I hate this part."

Stephanie chuckled. "Unfortunately, you're probably not going to like this part either." She turned away while she was talking and retrieved a sealed packet. When she turned back, she looked at him sympathetically. "Because of the IV, you're not going to be able to make it throughout the whole procedure without a potty break, and we can't actually have you moving around once we get started. So I'm afraid I need to set up a Foley catheter."

Blair cringed, but he had known this wasn't going to be a fun day. He had been catheterized when he had been hospitalized after he had been dosed with Golden, but he had been unconscious at the time, so he didn't remember it. He closed his eyes again. "Go ahead."

Stephanie pulled the covers down to the bottom of the bed, and Blair felt oddly exposed, even though he was still wearing the gown. He flinched as he felt the fabric of his gown brush against him as Stephanie moved it out of the way. Desperately, he tried to think of anything other than what was happening right now. He wondered how Jim was doing; he hoped he wasn't just sitting there thinking. Thinking could get you in trouble.

"Okay, Blair, all done. Are you still doing okay?"

Blair opened his eyes and looked up at Stephanie, cheeks flushed with embarrassment. "Uh . . . yeah. I'm okay."

"Okay, good. I promise that was the worst of the prep. Now all I need to do is prepare your incision sites."

Blair blushed again. "I don't even _want_ to know what that means." All he could think was that incisions were supposed to be made at the juncture of leg and groin on at least one leg. He hadn't really thought about the potential embarrassment of the whole thing. _Oh, well . . . it can't be any worse than the catheter! _

Stephanie laughed out loud. "You're doing fine, Blair. I'll be done here in just a minute. The doctors will decide which vessels they want to catheterize, so I'm going to get them all prepared. Both legs, your neck and the inside of your left elbow. All I need to do is make sure that each area is clean and shaved. Not painful, not too embarrassing, piece of cake!"

Blair smiled despite his embarrassment, and Stephanie was true to her word. Within a very short time, he was cleaned up and ready to go. Stephanie patted him on the shoulder, and then draped the covers over him once again.

"Okay, I'm all done. We should be ready for you in just a few minutes."

Blair lay back against his pillow, closing his eyes wearily. Now came the _really_ fun part.

*****

"Jim, if you look at your watch one more time . . ." Simon warned. "This morning is going to be long enough without you watching the clock!"

Ellison sighed. "I'm sorry, Simon. I just keep wondering how he's doing. I know it's only been a half hour. I'll try to keep on target here. You were saying?"

Simon shook his head, frustrated. He had known this was going to be a hard morning for his best detective, but it was going even worse than he had imagined. "Okay, let's take the interview from the beginning. What did the receptionist tell you?"

Jim visibly forced himself to pay attention to the subject at hand. "Well, as I said, she told me that the morning before Torres was arrested . . ."

*****

Blair wondered how long he had been waiting; since he had been told to remove all jewelry, he didn't have access to his watch. There were several people busy with the equipment on the other side of the room, chattering back and forth and completely ignoring him. He wasn't sure whether to be annoyed or relieved for the reprieve. He shifted uncomfortably in his bed, grimacing at the pull of the catheter as he moved. The IV tugged at the back of his hand, and the incision sites tingled from the rubbing alcohol.

"Blair, how are you doing?" Jonathan Simmons stepped up beside the bed. Like everyone else, the doctor was wearing scrubs and had a sterile mask dangling around his neck. "You ready to get the show on the road?"

Blair nodded wordlessly.

"Okay, good. Well, we're finally ready. We're going to move you to the table now so we can get started. Then we'll give you some medication through your IV to help you relax. Sound good?"

Blair nodded again, watching nervously as Stephanie and another nurse pushed his bed up beside the table in the center of all the equipment and monitors. The table was lowered until it was at the same level as his bed, and Stephanie smiled, pulling the covers back once more.

"Okay, can you scoot across to the table now?"

With a little assistance from the two nurses, Blair managed to slide from his bed onto the table, noting it was not nearly as comfortable a surface to lie on. Once he was settled on the table and his IV was moved to the attached stand, Stephanie pulled Blair's right arm out to the side and wrapped a blood pressure cuff around it. The other nurse pulled down the top of his gown and began to attach the adhesive pads they used with an EKG. Once the sticky pads were attached, she began to hook the electrodes to them.

Blair watched in nervous fascination as the monitors sprang to life, detailing his vitals and heart patterns across the screens. Stephanie clipped a pulse oxygenation monitor to his finger, and a new monitor added information to the mix. The second nurse gently pulled the top of Blair's hospital gown back up to his neck, covering his chest and the electrodes now taped there. Stephanie moved around to his other side and pulled his left arm to the side, gently twisting it so the previously prepared inner elbow was now visible.

Both nurses stepped away for a moment, and when they returned they were both wearing surgical masks. Stephanie stepped back up to the table, and Blair could tell she was smiling by the way her eyes crinkled.

"Okay, Blair. I'm going to put a sedative in your IV now, so you can just relax. You might fall asleep, but if you don't, don't worry about it. We'll make sure we use a local anesthetic before we make any incisions. You won't feel a thing."

She deftly added the sedative to Blair's IV, and he felt the effects almost immediately. An overwhelming drowsiness rushed through him, and he blinked lethargically. The second nurse was busily placing sterile drapes over him, and he was grateful for at least the semblance of privacy. His eyesight was getting blurry, and Blair could no longer tell who anyone was. Everyone was wearing dark green scrubs, hats and masks, and the fuzzy figures all looked the same to him.

One of the figures separated from the others and stepped to his side. "How're you feeling, Blair? Are you ready to get this taken care of?"

Even though Blair couldn't see much, he definitely recognized the electrophysiologist's voice. "Yeah," he slurred sleepily, attempting a drunken smile. "Les's do it."

He heard a soft chuckle, and then a hand squeezed his shoulder. "Okay, people, you heard the man. Let's do it."

Blair wondered groggily if he was going to actually stay awake for the procedure, his heart rate increasing as he felt hands moving the drapes from the top of both legs and his left arm. The cold air revived him for a moment, and he flinched as he felt a brief stab of pain in the top of his right leg, repeated almost immediately in his left leg.

"Blair, if you're still awake, that was the local anesthetic. It'll take just a few minutes to take effect and then you won't feel a thing." Stephanie's voice filtered through the fog that was filling Blair's mind. "But if you're tired, don't fight it. A lot of people sleep through the whole thing."

Blair nodded his head, at least he thought he did; he wasn't sure it actually moved. He closed his eyes wearily, and suddenly what the voices were saying and what the hands were doing didn't seem to matter anymore.

*****

Jim had given up on looking at his watch and was now pacing the small room in agitation. Simon shook his head in concern; he wasn't sure what else he could do for his friend. They had gone through all of the files he had brought and even discussed the highlights of the Jags game the night before. Blair had now been gone for nearly six hours. Simon had managed to coax Jim into eating a little bit of lunch nearly a half hour ago, but Jim had wanted to wait for Blair to come back before eating anything else.

Banks stood up and cleared his throat. "Jim, I'm going to go ask at the nurse's station if he's about done. I'll be right back."

Jim nodded, not stopping his manic pacing. Simon shook his head as he headed for the nurse's station. He really hoped they were going to get some good news . . . soon!

"Mr. Ellison?" Simon turned at the voice behind him. A young woman wearing scrubs was standing behind him, having noticed which room he came out of.

"No, he's in there." Simon pointed at the room. "Do you have news about Blair?"

The young woman nodded, ushering Simon back into the little room. Jim had heard the commotion in the hall and was standing in the middle of the room stoically, waiting for word. The woman smiled politely.

"You're Jim Ellison?" At Jim's nod, she continued. "I apologize for the long wait without any news. We hit a bit of a complication, and it's taking a little longer than we had hoped."

Ellison stiffened. "Wh . . what kind of complication?"

The young woman smiled gently. "It's nothing to worry about. Doctor Simmons will explain it to you in more detail when he's done. We discovered that Blair actually had several arrhythmias that needed to be fixed, and unfortunately, the doctor is having a little difficulty locating the last one. He can trigger it, so he knows there's still one left, but it's hiding from him, so it may be a little while longer."

"So what does that mean for Blair?" Jim sat down heavily in his chair.

"Honestly, it mostly means it's taking longer than usual for the ablation." The woman met Jim's eyes solidly. "It could still be a few more hours until they are sure they have everything taken care of. And, also, because of the delay and the multiple arrhythmias, we will be definitely keeping Blair overnight. That's the main reason I came down here. Once he's done, he'll be going to a room on the cardiac care floor so he can be monitored more closely. Doctor Simmons has had to do a lot of work, and we just want to make sure he's handling it okay."

Jim sighed, running his hand through his hair distractedly. "Okay, thanks for letting us know. Could someone just let us know where we should go to wait for him?"

The young woman nodded. "You can stay here for now, but I'll have someone let you know which room he's being taken to once he gets out of recovery." She rested a hand on Jim's shoulder. "He really is doing okay. I promise."

"Thank you." Simon walked out into the hall with her as she headed back toward the elevator. "He's really had a rough morning worrying about Blair. Thanks for the update."

The young woman smiled again. "Just doing my job. Now I need to get back up there so I can see how things are going. I promise it will only be a few more hours."

*****

The first thing he noticed was beeping, and a lot of voices talking quietly. Agitated, he turned his head to the side, trying to get away from the noise.

"Blair, can you hear me? I need you to hold very still."

Blair's groggy mind struggled to place the woman's voice. Oh, that's right. Stephanie. He forced heavy eyelids open as far as he could and saw a face hovering above him. He couldn't make much out, his vision still blurry, but he guessed it was Stephanie.

"Wha's goin' on?" he slurred.

A hand grasped his shoulder firmly. "Blair, you're still in the EP lab, and we're still working. I need you to hold your head still. We couldn't use the vein in your arm, so we had to go in through your neck, and you need to stay still until we're done. Don't worry, though. We've almost got you all fixed up."

Blair wondered what she meant and opened his mouth to ask her, when a wave of lassitude swept over him and he realized she must have added more of the sedative to his IV. Before he could think of what he wanted to ask her, he was out again.

*****

This time when Blair woke, it was because of the pain. It took him a minute to figure out where he was, but when he did, he wondered about the pain. They were supposed to give him a local anesthetic to prevent pain. What was going on? He grunted, shifting uneasily.

"Blair?" This time it was Doctor Simmons standing over him. Blair couldn't see him really well, but he sounded pleased about something. "Blair, welcome back. You've been sleeping for a long time, and I've been busy. Once you're feeling a little more aware, we'll talk about it. For now, just know that you're going to be fine."

"Hurts," Blair rasped hoarsely. He had to really concentrate hard to figure out where the pain was coming from, but he finally realized it was coming from his groin. Something was irritating his neck, too and someone had their hand clamped down on it. "Stop it."

Doctor Simmons leaned in closer. "Blair, I'm sorry that you're having pain, but it's unavoidable, I'm afraid. That pain and pressure you feel is because we are putting pressure on the incision sites to stop the bleeding. It'll get better in a few minutes. But it's very important that you don't move. In a few minutes we're going to move you back to your bed and take you to recovery, but I need you to promise me that you won't help, okay? Let us do all the work."

Blair attempted to nod his head, but stopped when strong hands grasped his head and held it still. "Oh, uh, no nodding?"

Doctor Simmons chuckled. "Good guess. Just stay completely still and everything will be fine."

Finally the painful pressure eased off of Blair's upper legs and groin, and he heaved a sigh of relief. "Better."

Simmons tentatively moved the hand he had been pressing down on the side of Blair's neck, checking the incision there. "Okay, we can go ahead and move him now." He leaned in very close to Blair. "Remember, don't help. Let us do all the work."

Blair listened dreamily to what was going on, still half asleep. He heard the wheels as his rolling bed was moved back up beside the table, and he listened as someone directed the others in the best way to move him without bending anything. He could feel hands on him everywhere as the whole team worked together to transfer him back to the bed. Suddenly the surface he was lying on was a whole lot softer, and he relaxed, drifting closer towards sleep. He vaguely felt his bed moving, and he blearily wondered where he was going when he dozed off again.

*****

This was getting old . . . waking up and not knowing where he was. Once again, his bed was moving. He wondered if he was still on his way to recovery. Opening his eyes, he looked up to see if he recognized anyone. Stephanie smiled down at him, mask and hat gone for the first time. He smiled back automatically; she was really pretty now that he could see the rest of her. She had long auburn hair pulled up in a twist, and her brown eyes twinkled when she smiled at him.

"Hi, Blair. You look like you might be a little more alert this time. Do you know where you are?"

Blair chuckled. "Well, I know I'm at Cascade General, but other than that, no. You people keep moving me!"

Stephanie laughed. "Good point. Well, right now we're in the elevator on the way to your new room on the cardiac care wing."

Blair's smile disappeared. "I thought Doctor Simmons said everything was okay."

"He did. He'll explain once you're settled in your room and are completely awake. I bet you're still feeling a little groggy, aren't you?"

Blair started to nod, but then remembered what had happened the last time. "Uh, yeah. Hey, can I nod now?"

"Sorry, not yet. I don't know if you remember me telling you this, but we had to go in through your neck as well as through both legs at the groin. I'm afraid you're not going to be able to move much of anything for several hours."

Blair groaned. "Great. Well, hey, at least I don't have to worry about getting up to use the bathroom, right?"

Stephanie grinned wickedly. "Good job looking on the bright side! The Foley catheter will stay in until you're able to get up and walk around. Right now, I think you're probably going to be grateful for it!"

The elevator bell sounded and the doors opened, and Stephanie and one of the hospital orderlies moved Blair's bed out into the hall. His bed was pushed past the nurse's station, which was lined with monitors and equipment. Once they moved down the hall, he was pushed into a room and up beside another bed.

"Okay, Blair, you know the drill. Don't help." Stephanie's stern voice prevented Blair from moving as two other nurses entered the room. "Okay, everybody, on the count of three."

Together the three nurses and the orderly smoothly transferred Blair to his new bed, and before he knew what had happened, he was tucked in and lying flat on the bed.

"Can't I have a pillow?" This was not going to be comfortable, staring up at the ceiling.

"Sorry." This was one of the new nurses. "I'm afraid you don't get a pillow until after you can move around. We need to keep you lying completely flat for several hours to make sure your incisions don't reopen. You don't have any stitches, so we need to make sure the seal holds. In the meantime, why don't you try to rest? I'll let your friends know you're here. They've been waiting for you for a while now."

Stephanie smiled one last time. "You take care now, Blair. You're going to be fine. I need to get back to the EP lab to do some cleanup and paperwork. Doctor Simmons will be checking in with you periodically, so you'll get some answers soon." She patted his shoulder and headed out the door, passing Jim and Simon, who were on their way in.

"Hey, Chief!" Jim smiled in relief as he headed over toward Blair's bed. "You've had me worried sick. How are you doing?"

Blair looked up at him in confusion. "Why have I had you worried? Why am I being admitted? What happened?"

Jim shrugged. "I don't know all the details yet. I think your doctor is supposed to fill us in when he comes up in a little while to check on you. I only know you were gone for over nine hours, and they found more than one problem."

"More than nine hours?" Blair was shocked. It had only felt like a short time to him. "And you were here waiting all that time? I'm sorry, Jim."

Simon stepped closer. "Sandburg, it's not your fault. And Jim wasn't alone. I've been here with him the whole time. We actually got quite a bit done on a couple of cases while we were waiting."

"So what's next?" Jim sat down beside the bed.

"I don't know." Blair glanced at Jim out of the corner of his eye. "All I know so far is that I can't move for hours, not even to move my head."

"Well, that's not going to be fun." Ellison stood back up. "Sorry, I guess you probably couldn't see me sitting down there. Why don't you try and go back to sleep. I'm sure Doctor Simmons will wake you up if you're asleep when he gets here. You look wiped."

Blair yawned. "Yeah, I am still tired, although I can't figure out why. Sounds like I just slept for nine hours. I hope I can get some more . . . " Blair's eyes closed, and he was gone again.

**_TBC . . ._**

**_Thanks again for reading! Please let me know what you think. I am hoping to have chapter 13 up by the weekend. You guys are the greatest!_**


	13. Chapter 13

**_Well, I didn't quite make the weekend once again. Sorry about that!_** **_Once again, thanks so much for the wonderful reviews and your continued support! There are no spoilers in this chapter._**

"Blair? Blair, can you wake up for me?"

Blair flinched, startled by the hand on his shoulder. He opened his eyes blearily and found himself looking up at Doctor Simmons. "Hi!" he mumbled groggily. He tried to focus on the doctor's face, but couldn't seem to control his eyes very well. They crossed briefly and then rolled lazily as he fought to concentrate.

He was distracted from his focus by the muffled snorts of laughter coming from the side of his bed. He automatically turned his head to look.

"Hold still, Blair. You can't move yet." Doctor Simmons sounded stern as he held Blair's head still. "I know you probably aren't wide awake yet, but you need to hold still."

"Sorry." Blair blinked, making a concerted effort to bring himself to a fully alert state. "Guys, that's very funny."

Jim and Simon stepped up beside the bed so Blair could see them without turning his head. "Sorry, Chief. You just looked a little funny there for a minute. We didn't mean to get you in trouble." He was making an obvious effort to control his laughter. "I should have had a video camera."

Simmons shook his head, smiling. "I don't know, Blair. Are you sure you want these guys in here? I could make them leave for you."

Sandburg grinned crookedly. "No, that's okay. They'll behave, won't you guys?"

Once the two visitors had assured the doctor that they would indeed behave, Simmons checked Blair's vitals. "Are you awake enough to listen to an explanation of how things went?"

Blair started to nod, but stopped himself with a smirk. "See, I must be more awake. I remembered this time! I'm tired, but I'm not too sleepy any more. I want to know what happened."

"Okay. Well, we inserted catheters through both legs at the groin, and we attempted to put another in through your arm. You have a bandage there to cover the wound, but it didn't work; so we had to go in through your neck. Once we got the catheters into your heart, we used electrical current through the catheters to stimulate the arrhythmia. What we found was a bit of a surprise. We actually found multiple arrhythmias. We pinpointed the location of the primary short circuited pathway that we needed to ablate, and once we had gotten rid of that, we were able to locate a second one. The first two pathways were fairly easy to get rid of.

"Once we had gotten rid of them, we stimulated your heart again, and we were able to tell that there was a third short circuit we needed to ablate. The only problem was that this one was hiding, and it took quite some time to find. We finally did locate it, though, and we were able to ablate that one also. So the procedure took quite a while longer to do than we had originally thought, and your body has been through quite an exhausting time.

"This is why we decided to keep you overnight. I know you're probably feeling like you want to move around after being still for so long, but I'm afraid we need you to lie still for a while longer. We want you to lie still and flat until we're sure that all three of your incisions have sealed properly. Someone will be in to check them periodically, but you can probably expect to stay the way you are for another four or five hours. After that, you can have a pillow, and we'll take out the Foley so you can get up and move around."

Blair sighed. "Well, you're right. I would like to move around. I'm getting restless. But I'll behave. I _so_ don't want to have any more problems!"

Simmons nodded. "Good. I promise we'll get you moving as soon as we can. Now, you know you still have the Foley and your IV is still connected. We'll also leave the automatic blood pressure cuff on for a while. You may not feel like it, but you're still connected to a heart monitor. You still have the pads and electrodes, but they're hooked up to this box." He lifted a small black box up from the bed. "The signal is broadcast continuously from this box to the monitors at the nurses' station. So they are monitoring you all the time and they'll notice if anything unusual shows up."

"Wow, I'm all wired up, huh?" Blair blinked wearily. "Why am I so tired still? I've slept all day!"

Simmons laughed. "Give yourself a break, Blair. Sleep is the best thing for you right now. Your body has been through quite an ordeal today. We may need to give you a low dosage of one of your heart medications for a little while to keep things stable until your heart heals, but for right now we want to see how it's working, so we want to leave you drug free. Are you hungry?"

Blair thought about it for a moment and then moved to shift to a more comfortable position on the bed. "Yeah, I could eat."

"Please try to remember not to move," Simmons cautioned. "I'll have one of the nurses bring in a tray. Unfortunately, you'll have to eat it lying down. I'm sure your friends can help you with that."

Jim, who had remained silent up until now, jumped into the conversation. "Don't worry, Chief. I'll help you eat your dinner."

Blair closed his eyes; this could be embarrassing. He sighed. "Thanks, Jim. That's great." He relaxed his muscles with effort and concentrated on lying still.

He must have fallen asleep again, listening drowsily to Jim and Simon conversing in hushed tones in the corner of the room. He opened his eyes again when a nurse bustled into the room with a meal tray.

"Okay, Mr. Sandburg. Here's your dinner. Now remember, you can't sit up or even lift your head to eat this. Did you want me to help you with it?"

Jim stepped forward. "That's okay, thank you. I've got it covered."

The nurse nodded, smiling at Blair. "Enjoy your dinner!" She moved on to her next patient, leaving Blair alone with Jim and Simon.

Blair glanced up at his two companions, feeling his cheeks grow warm. "Well, this is awkward." He chuckled self-consciously.

Jim looked at Simon, and then picked up the tray. Simon, picking up on Jim's cue, stood up and headed for the door. "Hey, Sandburg, I'm really glad you're doing well. Hang in there, and do everything the doctors and Jim tell you, and I'm sure you'll be back on your feet in no time. I need to head back to the station now and make sure Henri and Rafe got their paperwork done."

"Hey Simon, thanks so much for staying all day. I really appreciate it." Blair fixed Simon with an earnest look.

Simon grinned. "No problem, kid. You just get well soon." He waved as he left the room.

"Well, it's just you and me." Jim gave Blair a half smile as he peeled the cover off of the tray of food. "Let's see what they gave you. Oh, terrific. Noodles - looks like some kind of stroganoff. That should be fun."

Blair snorted. "Let's just see if I can actually eat it and not wear it."

"I'm highly offended that you don't think I can do a good job with this." Jim faked a hurt look, and Blair laughed, appreciating that Jim was trying to lighten up an uncomfortable moment.

It took a few minutes to get it right, but before long Jim was doing a fairly decent job of feeding his roommate. The first few forkfuls were a little shaky, and Blair discovered it was incredibly difficult to drink while lying flat, even with a straw. The two men were mostly silent during the whole awkward project, and Blair breathed a sigh of relief when he had finished the tray. Jim helped to clean him up and set the tray on the bedside table.

"Well, now it's time for a nap. I'll be here if you need anything, but just go ahead and get some sleep, okay?"

"Yeah, now _that_ I can handle!" Blair relaxed again, closing his eyes in relief. It was definitely time for a nap.

*****

Jim sat silently in his chair and watched his partner sleep. It had been a long day, and he really needed to get some rest, too, but he hated to leave Blair alone while he was so helpless in the hospital. Once he was able to move around, Jim would feel better about leaving. He glanced at his watch and did a double-take. It was now after eight o'clock in the evening, which meant that Jim's stressful day had started almost sixteen hours ago. No wonder he was tired! Unlike Blair, he had been awake and worried for most of that time.

He couldn't wait for the movement restriction to be removed; Blair looked incredibly uncomfortable, even in sleep. Jim was sure that the younger man would feel much more comfortable once he could rest his head on a pillow and stretch his legs. The nurse had been in twice since Blair fell asleep, checking his pulse, blood pressure, temperature and the incision sites, while Jim waited in the hall. Amazingly, Blair had barely even woken, drifting back to sleep almost immediately. Jim wondered if Blair would be able to sleep all night as well, or if he would end up awake during the night after all of the sleeping he had done today.

Jim had been listening to Blair's heart rate for the past couple of hours, and although it stumbled and sped up occasionally, apparently the nurses didn't feel that was a problem. He kept alert though, just in case. His musing was interrupted as Doctor Simmons stepped back into the room, followed by the nurse.

"Hey, Doc. What are you still doing here? I would have thought your day would have been over hours ago!"

Simmons smiled wearily. "After an ablation, I usually like to stick around until my patient is mobile again. Usually, that doesn't take too long, but every once in a while I get a case like Blair's where it turns into a long day. I'm going to check the incisions and see if we can get him up soon. _Then _I'll head home for the night."

Jim nodded, standing up stiffly, his body uncomfortable after sitting for so long. "I'll just wait in the hall." Suddenly, Blair's heart rate picked up speed, and Jim glanced over at the bed.

*****

Blair woke to voices in the room. It took him a minute to place them, but he finally realized it was Jim and Doctor Simmons. He opened his eyes, curious to see what was going on. Jim was standing beside his bed talking to the doctor. He turned and smiled at Blair as soon as his eyes opened, so he knew his partner had been monitoring his heart rate.

"Hey, Chief! How're you feeling?"

Blair thought for a moment, taking stock of his well being. The incision sites still hurt, a deep bruised feeling, and the rest of him felt stiff and sore. He really, really wanted to move, certain that movement would help the stiffness and ache in his body. He opened his mouth to reply, but both Jim and Doctor Simmons started to chuckle, stopping him. He looked back at his partner, confused.

"If you have to think about it that hard, I don't think I want to know!" Jim explained, still grinning.

"Maybe not, but _I _do!" Doctor Simmons shooed Jim toward the door. "You were going to wait outside, weren't you? I need a few minutes with my patient."

Jim nodded. "I'm going. Chief, I'm going to get a drink from the cafeteria. I'll be back in a few minutes, okay?"

Blair started to nod in response, but remembered that he was not supposed to do that. "Yeah, Jim. I'll be here when you get back." He attempted a smile, which disappeared wearily once his partner had left. "So, Doctor Simmons, why are you still here? I thought you would have gone home hours ago!"

Simmons smiled, stepping forward toward Blair's bed. "Oh, I wasn't about to go home without making sure we could get you mobile! How would you like to get up and move around?"

"You have _no_ idea how much I want to do that!" Blair's fervent response prompted another round of chuckling from the doctor, and this time the nurse joined in. "Why is everyone laughing at me?"

Simmons sobered with effort. "Sorry, Blair. Why don't we see how you're doing, and I'll let you sit up to make up for it?"

"Oh, that would be great!" Blair enthused. "You can laugh at me all you want if I can just sit up!"

Still chuckling, Simmons had the nurse check Blair's vitals once again, and then he pulled the covers down and the gown up. Blair turned his eyes toward the ceiling, blushing with embarrassment as the doctor carefully palpated the incisions, making sure the seals were holding. He tried to ignore the dull throb of pain that shot through the incision sites, thinking instead of how good it would feel to sit up.

Finally Simmons stood up straight. "Okay, Blair. Everything is looking good, so I'm going to let you sit up now. I'll have the nurse remove the Foley, because I know you want to get rid of it. That should help make you more comfortable. I want you to sit up for a while and see how that feels. In a half hour or so, if all goes well, we'll get you up on your feet. How does that sound?"

Blair grinned so broadly that his face hurt. "That sounds fantastic! I can't wait to get rid of this stupid catheter, and getting up sounds wonderful."

Simmons grinned back. "Now remember, if you start to feel strange or if you notice any bleeding at any of the incision sites, including your neck, please call for the nurse. They're still monitoring your EKG at the nurses' station, but there are some things they wouldn't notice. So you need to keep them aware of how you feel. I'm going to head home now and get some rest, but I'll be back in the morning to check you again. As long as you have no problems between now and then, you should be able to go home then."

"Thanks again, Doctor Simmons. I really appreciate everything!" Blair turned his attention back to the nurse as Simmons left the room with a wave. He tried to ignore what the nurse was doing when she removed the catheter, but it was uncomfortable enough that he couldn't concentrate on anything else. He heaved a sigh of relief once it was gone. "Thank you so much! I feel better already."

The nurse laughed, producing a pillow which she slipped under Blair's head. He was feeling better by the minute until she moved the head of the bed up to a forty-five degree angle. Then all the blood drained from his head, and he started to feel light-headed.

"Now don't worry if you're feeling light-headed," the nurse soothed. "You've been lying flat for a long time, and it's normal to experience some wooziness while you're getting accustomed to sitting up again. We'll leave you at this angle for a little while and then move you up further. In about a half hour or so, we'll try standing, and see if you can walk over to the chair." She smiled at her patient. "You just stay there and get used to it, and I'll go get your friend. He's probably back from the cafeteria by now."

She bustled from the room, returning in a moment with Jim, who was sipping from a hot cup of coffee. "Hey, Chief. Looking good, buddy!" Ellison sat down in his chair beside the bed. "Before you know it, you'll be walking around!"

Blair sighed in relief as the light-headedness began to dissipate. That had not been fun! He turned his head toward Jim, just because he could, and smiled. "Yeah, I'm feeling better already. Doctor Simmons is going to let me get up and walk around in a half hour, and I got rid of the catheter!"

Jim chuckled at Blair's earnest look. "I'm sure you were glad to get rid of that one! Well, Chief, if you're doing okay now, I think I'm going to head home and go to bed. I'm beat, and you're doing better. Unless you wanted me to stay until they get you up?"

Blair shook his head, enjoying the movement. "No way, man. You've been here long enough. Go home and get some rest. I should be ready to go home in the morning, and I'll see you then, okay?"

Jim nodded, finished his coffee and dumped the cup in the trash can, rising smoothly to his feet. "Okay, Chief. You get some rest tonight and take it easy. I'll be back for you in the morning. "

Once he had left the room, Blair noticed the remote for the wall-mounted television was fastened to the railing beside his bed. He grasped it and turned the television on. At least he would have something to do until he could get up.

*****

Jim called Simon as he headed out to the truck. "It's Ellison, sir. I just wanted to let you know that I'm heading home. They're letting Blair move around now, and Doctor Simmons just left to go home for the night. Unless there are any problems tonight, I should be able to pick him up in the morning and bring him home."

"That's great, Jim." Simon sounded pleased. "You take it easy and take care of your partner tomorrow. For now, go get some sleep!"

Jim got into his truck and started the engine, cradling the phone between his neck and shoulder. "Yes, sir. That's where I'm headed now. I'll talk to you in the morning."

The two men ended the conversation, and Jim headed toward the loft, eagerly anticipating a hot shower and his soft bed.

*****

Blair had sat in his bed at increasing degrees of angle, and after his half hour was up the nurse returned as promised to get him out of bed. It was amazing how good it felt to stretch his legs, although he was stiff and achy from lying still for so long. His legs hurt at the incision site, and he made sure to move carefully, wary of reopening the sealed wounds. It was amazing how tiring it was just to walk to the chair across the room and sit down.

The nurse, not wanting him to overdo it, only let him stay up for a short while, and then it was time for bed. Blair wondered how he would ever sleep tonight after sleeping nearly the entire day away. Strangely, it didn't take him long to nod off.

Unfortunately, it also didn't take him long to wake up to a different nurse checking his pulse. "What time is it?"

The nurse smiled. "Sorry to wake you, but it's time for your vitals check. It's eleven o'clock. Go back to sleep, if you can."

Blair nodded sleepily and forced his eyes closed. It took a little while, but eventually he felt himself drifting off to sleep again . . . only to wake up to the same nurse standing at his bedside checking his blood pressure.

"You still here?" he rasped, confused how he could have fallen asleep so quickly.

The nurse smiled. "Actually, no. I'm back. It's one o'clock in the morning, and it's time for your next check."

Wow, no wonder people claimed they couldn't sleep in the hospital. Every time he fell asleep, they woke him up. It was a good thing he was only in for one night! Three vitals checks later, he was treated to the sight of a much refreshed electrophysiologist accompanying the nurse.

"Good morning, Blair. How did you sleep last night?" Simmons laughed out loud at the expression on Blair's face. "Never mind. I can guess – you woke up every two hours all night long, right?"

"You got that right!" Blair shook his head. "I can't wait to go home and go to sleep!"

Simmons checked all three incision sites for bleeding and swelling while the nurse checked Blair's blood pressure, pulse and temperature. Simmons wrote something down on his chart and handed it to the nurse. The nurse glanced at the chart and headed out of the room.

"Okay, Blair, I think we can go ahead and send you home this morning, but before we do that I want to try a new medication as a temporary measure while your heart is healing. It's called Rythmol, and it's a fairly strong drug. We're going to give you your first dose while you're here so we can monitor you for any side effects. Barring any problems, you should be home in time for lunch."

The nurse returned carrying a small cup, which she handed to Blair with a smile. There was a round white pill in the bottom of the cup. Blair took the pill and drank the water that the doctor handed him. Leaning back against his pillow, he looked up at Simmons expectantly. "Now what?"

Simmons smiled calmly. "Now we wait."

**_TBC . . ._**

**_We should be getting fairly close to the end now, only two or three chapters left. You will notice I said we _should _be close. This story has taken on a life of its own, and about half of it was unplanned! So we'll see what happens! Please review and let me know what you think. Thanks so much for reading this!_**


	14. Chapter 14

**_Well, obviously I missed my weekend deadline! My apologies again. This time I struggled a little with writer's block, but I think I got past it now. Thank you so much for all of you that have been reading faithfully, especially those of you who have reviewed and/or added the story to your favorites! I'm overwhelmed with the response. Even though I have slowed down a few times on writing this, you have made this an incredible experience. _**

**_This chapter has no spoilers._**

Blair leaned back in his bed and closed his eyes. It had been almost two hours since he took his initial dose of Rythmol, and so far nothing had happened. Not just nothing _exciting_; _absolutely_ nothing. Nobody had been by to check on him, he had not gotten any breakfast, nothing. They probably thought they were giving him an opportunity to sleep. Unfortunately, after Doctor Simmons had told him they would be monitoring him, he had anticipated being disturbed frequently and consequently he couldn't sleep. Twisting irritably to the side, he sighed gustily. This was really annoying.

"Uh . . . problem, Chief?" The amused voice from the hallway startled him, causing him to flip over in the bed. Jim was leaning up against his doorway, watching him in amusement.

"Actually, yes," Blair admitted sheepishly. "I keep waiting for them to come in and check on me, so I can't sleep. And nobody has actually been in to check on me in two hours." He sighed again.

"Do you _need _to be checked on?" Jim moved into the room, sounding slightly alarmed.

"No, that's not the point." Blair shifted again in his bed so that he was marginally more comfortable. "It's just that they kept waking me up all night to check on me, and now I can't sleep because I keep waiting for them to come back and check on me again."

Jim settled easily onto the chair beside the bed. "Rough night, huh?" He studied Blair sympathetically.

Blair sighed again. "You could say that." He sat up suddenly. "Oh, hey! Doctor Simmons was in a couple of hours ago, and he started me on a new medication that I have to take for a while. I have to stay until they are sure I'm not going to have a bad reaction."

"Well, what symptoms are you watching for?"

Blair frowned. "I don't know. He didn't say. I've just been lying here waiting for something to happen. Nobody's been by at all. I didn't even get breakfast." He cringed at how much he sounded like a pouting child.

Jim grinned, obviously thinking the same thing. "Do you want me to go check on your breakfast, Chief?" He stood up, not waiting for an answer, and headed for the door. "You rest; I'll be right back."

Blair slumped down in his bed, embarrassed. Why hadn't he thought of asking what he was supposed to be looking for? _Huh. Guess I'm more tired than I thought._

*****

Jim strode purposefully back to the nurses' station, smiling politely at the woman behind the counter. "Good morning. I'm with Blair Sandburg in room 315. He was wondering if someone would be bringing him some breakfast soon?"

The nurse, a friendly gray haired woman, smiled back apologetically. "I'm very sorry, sir. The doctor told us to let him sleep. I guess he got disturbed a lot during the night. I'll call down and have his breakfast brought right up." She lifted the telephone receiver from the cradle and prepared to dial.

"Actually, I do have another question." Jim jumped in before she had time to dial. "Blair told me he's still here so that he can be monitored while he starts his new medication, but he doesn't know what to watch for."

The nurse grinned mischievously. "Well, that's kind of the point. We don't want him imagining symptoms because we told him what to watch for. I've been monitoring his heart rate and pulse oxygenation, and he looks good so far." She pointed at the bank of monitors along the back of the counter. "He's doing fine. I'll get that breakfast right up for him."

Jim nodded. "Thank you very much." He watched as the nurse spoke quickly into the telephone and headed back to Blair's room.

Blair looked up as he entered the room. "What did you find out?"

Jim grinned. "Well, your breakfast will be up in a few minutes. They were trying to let you sleep since you had a rough night. I guess that didn't work out so well."

Blair made a face, sitting up straighter in his bed. "Well, at least they're bringing me food now. Did you find out what symptoms I'm supposed to watch for?"

Jim shook his head, sitting back down in the chair. "Sorry, Chief. They don't want you to know, because then you might be imagining you had them. She said you're doing great so far. They have all of your monitors at the desk, and she's been keeping an eye on you from there."

"Oh." Blair leaned back again. "Well, I guess that makes sense. So . . . I guess I have to stay here all morning, if you need to go to the station."

Jim smiled fondly. "I'm here as long as you're here, buddy."

Both men looked up as the door opened, admitting a young volunteer carrying a tray. She smiled brightly at Blair, sitting the tray down on his rolling table. "Here's your breakfast, sir. I hope you enjoy it." She gave him another smile and quietly exited the room.

Jim watched with interest as Blair began to uncover his various breakfast items. "What did you get?"

Blair grinned at him, studying everything on his tray inquisitively. "Scrambled egg looking things, some shriveled up sausage-like things, a cup of fruit cocktail and toast. Oh, and orange juice and some kind of hot tea to drink."

Jim laughed out loud. "Scrambled egg looking things and sausage-like things? What are you talking about?"

Blair shrugged, picking up his fork hungrily. "Think about it, Jim. I'm in the cardiac care ward. Do you really think they're going to feed me real eggs and sausage?"

"Oh. Good point, Chief. Well, uh, enjoy your breakfast." He grinned unrepentantly at the sour look Blair gave him, settling back to wait while his partner ate his meal.

*****

"Okay, Blair. It's time to wake up."

Blair slowly opened his eyes, groggily trying to figure out where he was and who was speaking to him. _Oh, that's right . . . hospital_. He tried to focus his vision, looking for the speaker. Jim was still seated beside his bed, but it hadn't been Jim's voice. He rolled his head the other way and spotted Doctor Simmons standing there.

"Hey." His voice came out hoarse, and he cleared his throat. "What's up?"

Simmons smiled. "You've been sleeping for a couple of hours. I just saw the results of your last EKG, and I think we're safe to send you home now. You haven't developed any of the side effects we were concerned about, and your heart rate is stabilizing a little bit. I'm going to keep you on the Rythmol for three weeks just to give you a little help while your heart is healing from the ablation."

Blair struggled to sit up, wide awake now. "Really? I get to go home now? No offence, Doc, but being in the hospital is kind of not conducive to resting! I can't wait to sleep in my own bed."

The doctor and Jim both laughed at that. Simmons turned to the nurse who had followed him into the room. "I'm going to release Blair to go home. Could you please get him ready to go?"

"Yes, sir." The nurse stepped up to the bed, looking significantly at Jim.

Ellison smiled at her, but then as she continued to look at him, he got it. "Oh, yeah, uh, I'll just wait outside, Chief."

Blair smiled mischievously. "Where are you going, Jim?"

Jim smirked back at him. "Out. I'll be back when the nurse is through with you. Then we can get you home and you can rest in your own bed."

Blair watched as Jim and Simmons left the room, turning his attention to the nurse, who began to disconnect him from all of the monitors and the IV. He nodded stoically when she exclaimed sympathetically over the rash left behind on his chest by the adhesive on the electrode pads.

"I'm going to put a lotion on that to keep it from itching too much and help it start healing." The nurse bustled out of the room, returning momentarily with a bottle. "This will help you feel a little better. Every once in a while we get someone with reactions like yours, so we keep some of this on hand."

Blair cringed when the cold lotion dripped on his wounds, but the nurse was true to her word. She had barely rubbed the liquid onto the irritated skin when it seemed to feel better. When she had finished, she handed him the bottle.

"You can go ahead and take this along with you. That way you can keep putting it on until your skin heals." She patted his shoulder. "You can get dressed now. Doctor Simmons will be back in a moment with your last minute instructions."

As soon as the nurse had left the room, Blair pulled himself out of bed, wobbling a little as he aimed himself toward his clothes in the small closet. He slowly dressed himself and then gingerly made his way into the bathroom to take care of things there. Once he was done, he sat back down on his bed to wait.

Jim returned to the room almost immediately, and Blair smiled as he thought that his Sentinel must have been keeping tabs on him to know that he was done getting ready. Doctor Simmons and the nurse followed shortly after, and Blair found himself studying a handful of materials.

He listened attentively as Doctor Simmons explained the importance of noting any side effects he noticed with the Rythmol, and he finally had a detailed list of what things to watch for. He really hoped that this stuff actually helped, because the list of potential side effects was staggering. Glancing down the list, he shook his head. Nausea, vomiting, heartburn, gas, loss of appetite, stomach cramps, dizziness, drowsiness, headache, weakness and changes in sleep habits were all on the list, and they were only the ones to expect while getting _used _to the medication. No wonder they hadn't wanted to let him know what they were. He felt queasy just thinking about it.

He was also supposed to watch out for muscle aches, sweating, dry mouth, tremors and an unusual taste in his mouth. But the symptoms to _really_ be concerned about would be chest pain, blurred vision, unusual bleeding or bruising, skin rash (great! He could hardly wait for _that _one!), chills, infection, fever, persistent sore throat, sudden weight gain, swelling of his ankles or feet, trouble breathing, or an unusually fast, slow or irregular heartbeat. If any of those symptoms occurred, he was supposed to contact Doctor Simmons immediately.

Blair was still shell-shocked from the list of symptoms when Doctor Simmons fixed him with a steady gaze. "Now, Blair, there are a few things I need you to remember."

Blair groaned dramatically. "This isn't enough?" He lifted his fistful of paper.

Jim swatted him playfully across the back of his head. "Listen up, Chief. This is important."

Blair nodded, sobering. "Go ahead. What else do I need to remember?"

Simmons, leaning up against the night stand, nodded back. "Okay. I need you to wait another day before you take a shower. Keep your incisions covered. When you do take the bandages off in twenty-four hours, make sure that your incisions are not doing anything more than a mild seepage. If you're bleeding, you need to call right away. When you do shower, make sure that you wash the sites very gently. If they're still seeping, keep them covered. Otherwise, you'll end up with a mess on your clothes.

"Also, you might notice a small lump at your incision sites. That's normal, and it should go away in a week or so. But again, if you notice heat or real swelling, call. If you notice that the bruising at the incision site is getting bigger, call. And I don't want you to lift anything heavier than ten pounds for at least five days. Oh, and don't take the stairs. You don't want to be bending those legs any more than you have to right now."

Blair nodded solemnly. This was serious stuff they were talking about.

"What if he _does_ start bleeding?" Jim was apparently taking it seriously, too. "I know we call, but what else can we do?"

Simmons frowned. "That's a very good question. Of course, I hope it never comes to that, but if it does; Blair, you need to lie flat and let someone hold pressure at the incision site. If it doesn't stop bleeding within fifteen minutes of pressure, call 911." He grinned suddenly. "So . . . are you ready to go home?"

"I'm not really sure." Blair wondered if he would remember all of the instructions the doctor had just hurled at him.

Jim chuckled, grasping Blair's shoulder. "Don't worry, Chief. I was listening, too. Between the two of us, we're bound to get it right!"

*****

"Hey, Chief?" Blair opened bleary eyes to see his partner looking at him in concern. "We're home."

Blair looked around, realizing that Jim's truck was parked in his usual spot outside the loft. He wondered how long he'd been out. Just getting to the truck had been exhausting, and for most of that time he had been in a wheel chair. Jim had practically lifted him into the truck to avoid any pressure on his incisions. Now he needed to martial his strength to get up to their apartment. Jim jumped out of the truck and came around to open the door.

"Let me do most of the work, okay?"

Blair nodded, letting Jim lift him out of the truck. Once on firm ground, he shuffled wearily toward the building, letting Jim go ahead of him to get the door. Inside, they immediately headed for the elevator, and Blair heaved a sigh of relief that it was functioning today. The old equipment seemed to function sporadically, and he had been very concerned about how he would get upstairs without it, since he was not allowed to take the stairs yet.

Jim leaned against the wall of the elevator, clutching a bag containing Blair's toiletries in one hand, and a small pharmaceutical bag in the other containing a bottle of Rythmol and the lotion for Blair's rash. Once the elevator reached the third floor, Jim herded Blair gently toward the apartment, unlocked the door, and shooed him toward the sofa.

"Go lie down, buddy. I'll get you something to drink and a blanket. I promise I won't wake you up every two hours." He grinned at the younger man as he headed for the kitchen.

Blair gingerly stretched out on the sofa, sighing at the soft feel of the comfortable cushions. He was feeling better already. He pushed a throw pillow under his head to get even more comfortable and closed his eyes. He barely felt it when a soft blanket floated over him, and he vaguely registered the clink of a glass on the coffee table. He could hear Jim puttering quietly in the kitchen, which seemed so normal it felt even more relaxing. He felt his body completely unwind for the first time since the whole procedure began and drifted peacefully to sleep.

**_TBC . . ._**

**_I think that I should not promise when the next chapter is coming, because lately I can't ever seem to keep to my deadlines. I will just say that I am already working on Chapter 15, and I will have it posted as soon as I can. Thanks again for reading, and please review and let me know what you think!_**


	15. Chapter 15

**_I am SO__ sorry for the long delay in getting this chapter posted. I am sure it had nothing whatsoever to do with my niece's sweet 16 birthday bash . . . or our 3 day family reunion . . . or my trip for work up to the main office for a few days . . . or the story I was working on for a zine that had reached its deadline . . . Okay, actually it had to do with all of those things, but the biggest problem was a case of writer's block. So I apologize very much for the delay. My thanks again for all of you wonderful readers who have kept up with this story, especially those who have reviewed or bookmarked it as a favorite or put me on alert. You're awesome!_**

**_This chapter has no spoilers. _**

Blair opened his eyes sleepily, wondering what had woken him. He was still on the sofa, and he could hear Jim moving around the apartment. He wasn't sure how long he had been asleep, but he thought with satisfaction that it may actually have been longer than two hours. He blinked the sleep from his eyes and struggled to sit up.

Jim was halfway across the room to the door, but he stopped to look at his partner sheepishly. "Sorry, Chief. I wasn't paying attention, and Simon made it all the way to the door. I didn't mean to wake you up."

Blair blinked groggily and then grinned as he realized what Jim had just said. "Wait . . . you mean Simon _actually _got to knock on the door? That's awesome!" He yawned, leaning his head against the back of the sofa.

Jim opened the door to a smirking Simon. "Something wrong, Jim? I actually had to knock!"

"Yeah, yeah, you guys are so funny. I wasn't paying attention, okay?" Jim closed the door behind his friend and led the way to the living room.

"How're you doing, Sandburg?" Simon sat down in the armchair across from the sofa. "Feeling any better yet?"

Blair chuckled. "I've only been home a few hours. I don't feel any different yet. Give me a little while to sleep and start healing!"

Simon smiled back contritely. "Sorry, kid."

Blair snuggled back down against his pillow on the couch, pulling his blanket up over his shoulders. He closed his eyes, listening drowsily as Jim and Simon talked quietly about one of the cases they had been working on at the station. It didn't seem very long before the voices faded out and he drifted back to sleep.

*****

Jim ushered Simon from the apartment, and then turned to look back at Blair. The two men had discussed work for nearly an hour and a half, and Blair had never even moved in that time. Finally Simon had excused himself, declaring that he would stop in again when Blair was feeling better.

Jim sat down in the armchair, taking a moment to monitor Blair's heart rate. It was still skipping beats occasionally, but it definitely sounded better than it had before Doctor Simmons had started him on the Rythmol. Sandburg was deeply asleep and Jim hoped he would stay that way for a long time. Sleep had to be the best thing for him right now, especially since he had gotten so little undisturbed sleep in the hospital.

He wondered if this procedure could actually completely fix Blair's heart condition. After all of the problems he had struggled with over the past few years, it almost seemed too easy, although he knew that Blair would argue that point. He was sure the actual procedure had not seemed easy to the patient at all. It just seemed unreal to think that after he healed, Blair might never have another issue with his heart. Doctor Simmons had told them that was the ultimate goal but warned them that some patients still needed to take medication even after the ablation, and in rare cases an additional ablation was necessary or even other types of additional intervention, such as a pacemaker. He sincerely hoped that Blair was not one of those rare patients.

He sighed, scrubbing a hand over his face. He should really be taking advantage of Blair's sound sleep and get some sleep himself, but he just couldn't seem to pull himself away for that long. He stood and headed into the kitchen. Maybe he could make some dinner while he waited for Blair to wake up from his nap.

*****

Blair woke to a delicious smell permeating the loft and the muted sounds of Jim moving quietly around the kitchen. He smiled blearily as his stomach growled suddenly. Whatever Jim was making smelled really good, especially after the bland breakfast he had consumed several hours earlier. This smelled like real food, a definite improvement. In fact, if his nose was not deceiving him, he was smelling his own lasagna. Jim must have thawed some out and heated it up.

He opened his eyes, staring vacantly at the blank television screen across from him while he got his bearings. He had _really_ been out, which was probably the best thing for him. Wrapping one hand in the loose material at the top of the sofa, he slowly pulled himself up to a sitting position, where he sat blinking owlishly for a moment.

"Hey, Chief. Welcome back. I didn't wake you up, did I?" Jim was suddenly there, a dish towel in one hand, hovering over him anxiously.

Blair shook his head, but decided that might not have been such a good idea when the room spun. He tightened his grip on the back of the couch and dropped his head back to rest again the soft material. "No." He cleared his throat when his voice came out as a croak. "Uh, I don't think so, anyway. I think I just woke up because I had enough sleep."

"Well, I have some lasagna heating. I figured that's about as far from hospital food as we can get." He grinned. "Do you want me to bring some in here?"

"No." Blair swung his feet down to the floor." I need to get up anyway." He gestured vaguely toward the bathroom.

Jim nodded. "Do you need any help?"

"I'll let you know." Blair stood up slowly and then released his hold on the sofa. Carefully balancing himself, he stepped toward the bathroom, relieved when he didn't need to hang on to anything. "Yeah, I think I'm good. I'll be back in a few minutes." Still moving slowly, he steadied himself against the wall as he approached the door.

It didn't take him long to finish his business and clean up a little. He had to laugh when he looked in the mirror. His eyes were marked by dark circles, but that wasn't what had him chuckling. His curly hair was sticking out in every direction. He couldn't believe that Jim hadn't said anything. Wetting his brush, he made a valiant attempt to tame the curls, but finally gave up and headed back to the living room.

Jim was sitting at the table in the kitchen waiting for him. His face reddened when Blair approached, and Blair grinned.

"I caught you, didn't I?" He eased down into his chair, sniffing appreciatively at the fragrant pasta on his plate. "You were monitoring me again."

Jim grinned, embarrassed. "Guilty."

"So . . . what's the verdict?" Sandburg slumped down in his chair at the table, amazed that he was tired just from walking that far. He surveyed the table with interest. A plate of lasagna and a bowl of salad sat in front of him. "This looks good."

Jim grinned. "Thanks. I can heat stuff up with the best of them. And the verdict is you sound better each time I 'listen in'. I think that Rythmol is really doing the trick."

"Good." Blair picked up his fork and began to eat, only realizing exactly how hungry he was when he tasted the food.

*****

Blair was sleeping again. He had done a lot of that in the two days since he had been home, but Jim noticed that every time he did, his heart calmed a little more. It almost sounded normal now. He would be the last person to begrudge his partner a little . . . or rather a _lot_ . . of sleep if it was actually going to heal him. It was just getting kind of boring. He had been keeping the guys at bay, trying to let Blair get his rest, but that meant that he had really had nobody to talk to either. Most of his time was spent taking care of his 'patient'. He made sure Blair had food and plenty to drink, he woke him up when it was time for his next dosage of medication, and this morning he had even hovered outside the bathroom door while the younger man took his first approved shower.

When the telephone rang, he was pathetically happy for contact with the outside world. He grabbed it eagerly. "Ellison."

"Hey, Jim. " Simon's deep voice sounded better than he could have imagined. "How's Sandburg doing? Are you about ready to come back to work?"

"Hey, Simon." Jim sat down on the sofa, relieved that he didn't even need to speak quietly since Blair had opted to sleep in his room this afternoon. "Blair's doing great. He's been sleeping a lot, but his heart rhythm keeps getting more regular. I think I might come in for a while tomorrow. "

"That's great, Jim. Listen, I know that you thought it was too soon for the guys to come visit. Now that he's doing better, do you think he would be up for some company tonight? We'll even bring the food. "

Jim felt relief seep through him. Simon's plan sounded absolutely perfect. Blair would be able to stay up for a little while, the guys would get to visit, and Jim would have something to do other than listen to Blair's heart rate. As much as he cared about his roommate and was concerned about his condition, the enforced solitude was about to drive him insane.

"That sounds like a great idea, Simon." He hoped that his quick reply didn't come across as too desperate.

Simon's chuckle told him that his boss knew him too well. "Have you been missing adult conversation, Jim? Don't worry; Rafe is bringing a deck of cards. We can squeeze in some poker while we're visiting."

Ellison laughed. "Am I that easy to read? It's just that he's been mostly sleeping since he got home, and I haven't had _anyone_ to talk to. But I think he'll be fine to be up for a while tonight. It will do us both some good."

Simon and Jim finalized their plans for the evening, and then Jim decided he should wake Blair so that he could get up and get ready for their company. He stepped quietly into Blair's room, looking fondly at his sleeping partner. Blair was sleeping on his side, his hair curling wildly in all directions. He looked impossibly young. One arm hung over the side of the bed, and Jim wondered how long it had been like that. He hoped it hadn't gone to sleep. He carefully grasped Blair's wrist and lifted his arm back onto the bed.

Blair shifted in his sleep and tucked the offending arm back under his pillow, snuggling in closer under his blanket. Jim grinned. He must be feeling less anxious about Blair's recovery, because he had an overwhelming urge to take a picture. It would look great on the Major Crimes bulletin board!

*****

When the first guests arrived, Blair was waiting anxiously on the sofa. He had been awake for a while and was looking forward to some company other than Jim. He knew that this would be good for his partner, too. It couldn't have been very interesting sitting around the house being quiet for the past couple of days.

Jim was out on the balcony making sure that the grill was ready for use. Apparently, the guys had volunteered to bring dinner, and that included something to grill. Blair glanced up at the open door to the hallway. Since Jim was outside, he had left the door to the hallway propped open so that Blair would not have to get up to let their visitors in.

Blair sighed. He was perfectly capable of walking across the room and opening the door. It was just another example of the overprotective nature Jim had been lavishing on him the past few days. Part of the reason he had been sleeping so much was because Jim wouldn't let him do anything else. He knew it had been helping his heart to heal from the ablation, but it was also incredibly boring.

"Anybody home?" Simon and Joel walked into the apartment, both carrying bags of food.

Blair immediately stood up and headed toward his visitors. "Hey, guys!"

"Sandburg, are you supposed to be walking around?" Simon's stern question made Blair stop and stare at him in frustration.

"Actually, _yes_. I _am_ supposed to be walking around. But my _guard dog_ won't let me do _anything_! I am so glad to see other people!" He glared out toward the balcony, and then headed for the kitchen.

"I heard that." Jim stepped in from the balcony, smiling at Blair good-naturedly. "Hey, guys. You can bring the stuff for the grill right out. I have it all ready. Blair, show Joel where we keep the bowls for salad and then sit down somewhere, okay?" He headed back out for the balcony, followed by Simon, who cast Blair a sympathetic look before turning his attention to the grill.

Joel stood in the middle of the floor with his bag of salad supplies in his arms, watching the interaction between the two men. He followed Blair into the kitchen and put the bag down beside the sink. The younger man wearily pointed out the cabinet that contained the salad bowls and then headed back toward the living room.

"Hey, Blair. Maybe you could sit on one of these stools?" Joel dragged one of the tall stools from the breakfast bar up to the sink. "That way, you'll be sitting like Jim asked, but you can still help."

Blair looked back, startled, but then grinned widely. "Thank you! Aw, man, you have no idea how happy I am that you guys came by tonight! When are Henri and Rafe coming?" He sat on the stool and grabbed a handful of vegetables out of the bag, preparing to wash, peel and dice.

Joel grinned back at him. "Glad to help. They should be here soon. I think they were stopping by Rafe's apartment. He needed to go home to get a deck of cards for poker."

Blair nodded, already carefully peeling a carrot. It was so nice to finally be able to do something other than sleep.

*****

"Hey, Hairboy, you take care of yourself." Henri was the last of the visitors to leave, and Jim watched as Blair grinned and nodded at his guest's advice.

Blair closed the door behind the departing guests and then slowly walked to the sofa to sit down. Watching him closely, Jim saw exhaustion, but also something he hadn't seen since before the ablation. Blair was content. He hadn't overdone things, but he had actually managed to help with the dinner and had obviously enjoyed interacting with his friends. And Jim was sure that the fact that he had cleaned up at poker didn't hurt.

"Hey, Chief."

Blair had stretched out on the sofa, and he rolled his head now to look at Jim curiously. "Yeah."

"I'm sorry."

"Huh?" Blair pushed himself back up to a sitting position. "What for?"

"I've been smothering you the past few days. I was just trying to look out for you, but I guess I didn't realize until tonight how much you actually have improved." He sighed. "I should have been letting you do more for yourself."

Blair's smile lit up the room. "Hey, man. No problem. I know you were just trying to help! I'm just glad that the guys decided to visit tonight. I think it was good for both of us. I know you haven't been having any fun the last few days either."

Jim shook his head. "Well, since I wasn't letting you do anything, that was kind of my fault, wasn't it?"

Blair laughed out loud. "Well, since you put it that way . . ." He sobered. "Actually, all that sleep did help, I think. I am feeling a lot better. So even though I was getting frustrated, thanks."

Jim nodded. "I'm going into work tomorrow morning, if that's okay with you."

"Yes!" Blair caught himself, coloring at the exuberance in his voice. "Uh, I mean that's okay with me."

This time Jim laughed out loud. "I guess I had that coming. Well I'm going to head to bed now. Do you need anything?"

"No, I'm good." Blair watched as Jim headed for the stairs to his bedroom and then he grabbed the TV remote. He was going to stay up as long as he wanted tonight. Maybe he would even fall asleep watching television.

**_TBC . . ._**

**_Okay, we are actually getting toward the end of the story, but that doesn't mean that all of the action is over! It will probably be maybe two more chapters from here. Thanks again for reading, and please review and let me know what you think!_**


	16. Chapter 16

**_A/N: Huge apologies for the delay in getting this chapter to you! I couldn't believe it when I realized that it had been FIVE months since my last chapter! My RL has exploded, and I have been doing a lot of traveling and working insane hours, but I also got stuck on this chapter. This particular chapter has been planned from the very beginning, almost 5 years ago, and for some reason I had planned it so much I couldn't seem to write it. But the words finally flowed today, so here it is. _**

**_WARNING: MAJOR spoilers for pretty much the entire episode 2:22 Survival. You have been warned!!_**

Blair had been home from the hospital for a week before he went back to work at Rainier. Jim wanted him to still take it easy, but when Blair showed up at the station after his classes were done for the day, he just sighed and offered some reports for the younger man to type up.

Blair grinned and dug into the reports with gusto. He was so thrilled to be doing something, he didn't even care that he was actually doing Jim's job. "Hey, man. Take advantage of it while I'm feeling generous!"

Simon, heading toward the desk, chuckled. "Good to have you back, Sandburg. Your partner's been impossible to work with for the last week."

Blair rolled his eyes. "Yeah, tell me about it. He's been calling me every hour or so. I figured I might as well come in so he can just ask me in person how I'm feeling every hour."

"I see how it is. You show some concern for a friend, and everybody busts on you." Jim shook his head, the twinkle in his eye belying the frown on his face. "From now on I don't care how you're feeling."

Simon shook his head, turning back toward his office. "You're not fooling anybody, Ellison. Get back to work."

*****

Ellison sighed and ran a hand through his hair. How had things gone so wrong so quickly? Blair had been back to work for almost three weeks, and Jim could tell he was starting to get antsy about getting back out into the field. He had stopped taking the Rythmol a few days ago, and Jim was very pleased with the steady beating of the younger man's heart. After months on end of worrying about his partner's health, things finally seemed to be back to normal.

However, when Simon had come to him the previous morning to ask for his help with the escort detail for Dawson Quinn, Jim had been less than pleased. He hated Quinn for what he had done to young officer Brody, and he wanted nothing to do with this job. But Simon had finally persuaded him to take the rear of the convoy so that he would have no contact with Quinn. Simon had also ordered Jim to bring Sandburg along to keep him company, and Jim wished now that he had disobeyed that order.

It hadn't taken long for the easy assignment to go horribly wrong. They had been ambushed by Quinn's girlfriend and another gunman. While escaping in a helicopter, Simon had been taken hostage. Jim and Blair had followed as quickly as they could, but the chopper had crashed, killing the pilot and putting Simon, Quinn and his girlfriend Lisa on the ground in the wilderness.

Jim had tried to talk Blair into going back to town, not wanting him to be involved so soon after his recovery. He shook his head ruefully. That had not gone well.

"_Look, Chief, I think I want you to take a squad car back into town, okay?" _Jim had actually known when he said it that he was fighting a losing battle, but he had to try.

Predictably, Blair had shaken his head stubbornly. _"Come on, Jim, you can't do this alone. I'm your backup. You need me. And besides, I'm not a novice at this wilderness thing, all right?"_

And Jim had given in, partly because he was in a hurry to get to Simon, and partly because he had known that Blair would never have gone home willingly. He had bitten his lip to keep his mouth shut when Blair's next question was which way was North, completely negating his claims of experience in the wilderness. He had thought that as long as he had Blair in sight, he could keep him safe and monitor his heart rate at the same time.

That had proved to be a false assumption when they had literally been chased off a cliff by a couple of new players after Quinn's money. Jim had been right there with Blair and had still not been able to keep him from a terrifying leap off the cliff and from hitting his head on a rock in the river. He hadn't even realized Blair had been injured until the younger man stumbled and clutched his head.

"_Jim! Hey, buddy, hang on, man. I need a couple minutes. My head is killing me, man." _

Jim had quickly spotted the bump on Blair's head. _"What's going on? Is your vision okay?" _Jim gently touched the bump. _"Ooh, yeah, you got pretty well banged up there. All right, this is a good place. It's good shelter. I'm gonna see if I can get back on their trail. And I'm gonna double back for you in a little while."_

"_All right. Are you going to think less of me if I actually take you up on that offer?" _

Ellison had to admit that he was deeply disturbed by how quickly Blair had taken him up on his offer to rest while Jim went on alone, but he hid his concern, smirking at the younger man. _"I'll probably think of you as some self-serving, spineless goober."_

Blair had smirked back. _"I can live with that."_

Jim had grinned, tossing back a quick reminder to stay awake and not light any fires, Blair's response floating after him as he loped off after Simon and Quinn. He tried not to chuckle at Blair's parting complaint. _"Cold and wet is my world!" _He was just relieved that Blair would stay stationary and safe while Jim continued the search.

And that move hadn't worked out for the best either. While they had been separated, Blair had been attacked by the two men following Quinn and knocked unconscious for the second time in only a few hours. He had only escaped this morning when the two thieves had turned on each other. Jim had been so focused on following Quinn and Simon that he hadn't realized Blair was in trouble until he heard a gunshot. He had immediately doubled back, startled when the younger man had collided with him on the path, wild eyed with terror.

"_Whoa. Whoa. Easy. Easy. Chief. Chief. It's me. Settle down. I heard a shot. What happened?" _Jim grabbed his partner by the shoulders, stabilizing the younger man.

"_It's those guys from the river, man, from the river. They shot at us. It's gotta be them. They knocked me out, man. They were going to kill me. But they got in this fight and they were..." _Blair rambled on as Jim quickly checked the newest bump on the observer's head.

"_Whoa, whoa, whoa. Shh-shh. They're moving away." _Jim had immediately noticed the unfocused look in his partner's eyes, and his unease grew. Blair was having a very hard time of things. He definitely should have insisted the younger man return to the city. The only consolation was that so far Blair's heart rate had stayed relatively stable, although slightly elevated as would be considered normal with his injuries.

And if all of that hadn't been bad enough, when they had finally found Simon, Quinn and Lisa, the remaining would-be thief had opened fire on them. As everyone scurried for cover, Jim and Simon had both observed Blair's grunt and stumble as he was hit in the leg with a bullet. Both men had grabbed the injured man and dragged him to safety inside the mine.

Jim shook his head and ran a hand through his hair distractedly. That pretty well summarized the past 24 hours, and now he needed to somehow defeat Quinn and Lisa, and also get rid of Wade, the surviving thief, while getting Blair and Simon to safety. Blair's heart rate had accelerated, but again it was within reasonable limits for someone who most likely had at least a moderate concussion and had been shot. He cinched his belt tighter around Blair's leg, ignoring the younger man's grunt of pain.

"_I can't believe I got shot, man."_

Jim patted his shoulder gently. _"You're going to be okay. We got to just get the bleeding under control, okay?" _He looked at Simon._ "Keep an eye on him for a while."_

He quickly made his way to the mouth of the mine shaft, listening grimly as Wade and Quinn decided to join forces against the three 'cops' in the mine. His heart sank. An already bad situation was about to get worse.

*****

Jim sat quietly beside his partner, watching in concern as Blair dozed off. Wade was dead, Quinn and Lisa had been neutralized, and they were now waiting for the cavalry. Blair was stretched out against the outer wall of the mine, attempting to rest despite his gunshot wound and now three blows to the head. The shack exploding had not done either Blair or Simon any favors, but at least it had enabled them to be able to get the drop on Quinn and Lisa, ending the frustrating series of events they had endured for the past day and a half.

Blair was hanging in there, and Jim was very proud of his partner. The younger man had taken quite a beating, but he was still stoically waiting for rescue like everyone else. Jim only hoped that help came soon. He didn't want to delay Blair's medical attention too long. If nothing else, he had lost a lot of blood from the leg wound.

Blair jerked awake as Ellison watched. "Ouch. Hey, Jim." Sandburg coughed weakly. "They here yet?"

Jim cocked his head, listening intently. "No, not yet. But they shouldn't be too much longer. You just hang in there, Chief. You're doing great."

Blair nodded his head slightly, but still grimaced. "Remind me not to shake my head for a while!"

Jim smiled gently. "You got it."

Blair groaned. "I can't believe I've only been out of the hospital for a month, and now I'm going to be back there again. I hate that place!"

Simon laughed. "But you are such a good customer there. "

"Shhh." Jim listened again for a moment. "I can hear the chopper. They should be here any minute."

The three men watched silently as a black speck appeared on the horizon and then grew in size until it was recognizable as a helicopter. As it approached, the wind picked up and the sound grew nearly unbearably loud.

It seemed that everything happened at once then. The sheriff's department and FBI arrived at the same time as the medics, and Blair chatted gamely with Mara Cale while he was being loaded up for delivery to the hospital. Jim shook his head in amazement when Sandburg made a date with the pretty agent. Even as injured as he was, the younger man was incorrigible.

Jim made his way over to Blair's gurney, watching as they prepared to evacuate him out below the helicopter. Suddenly Blair's heart picked up speed drastically. He looked up pleadingly at Jim.

"_Jim, I'm afraid of heights, man. Help me."_

"_Nah, you're going to be all right,"_ Jim soothed brusquely.

Blair closed his eyes, chanting quietly to himself. _"I'm not afraid."_

Jim and Simon watched in amusement as the gurney began to rise into the air. As the helicopter slowly began to move away, Blair's chant continued.

"_I'm not afraid."_ Then it changed suddenly. _"I'm scared!"_ This came out in a wail.

Jim grinned. _"You're fearless."_

Blair ignored him, still wailing. _"Jim...Jim! Oh, Jim! Jim, get me down!"_

Jim's amusement died abruptly when he realized that Sandburg's heart rate had taken off like a trip hammer again. It was probably the blood loss that had triggered it this time. He turned to Simon as the helicopter drifted out of earshot.

"Simon, we need to get to the hospital as soon as possible. He's having another episode. I knew that ablation was too good to be true. It's probably all the blood he lost that triggered it."

Simon nodded, looking at Mara. "Agent Cale, can you get us to the hospital as soon as possible? We need to check on Sandburg."

Mara nodded. "Of course. It won't be as fast as the chopper, of course, but we will get you out of here as soon as possible."

Jim shook his head again. So much had gone wrong in the past two days he couldn't even wrap his mind around it all. The sooner they got to the hospital to check on Blair the better.

*****

Jim entered the hospital at a brisk walk, heading immediately to the Emergency Room reception desk. "Excuse me, ma'am. We're looking for Blair Sandburg? He was brought in by helicopter a few hours ago."

The young woman behind the desk looked up with a smile. "Yes, sir. Let me see if I can locate him for you." She typed rapidly on her keyboard and then nodded. "He's not here in the ER any more. They've already admitted him. Doctor Hernandez wants to see you before you go visit him." She picked up the telephone and paged the doctor.

Jim and Simon waited impatiently for a few minutes until a middle aged man in a white coat entered the room. The receptionist caught his eye and pointed to the two Major Crimes officers. The doctor immediately changed direction and headed toward them.

"Jim Ellison?" He nodded when Jim acknowledged his greeting. "I wanted to talk to you before you saw Mr. Sandburg because he's resting right now, and I know you want to be informed as soon as possible how he is doing."

Jim nodded grimly. "How bad was his heart this time?"

Hernadez looked at him in confusion. "Excuse me?"

"His heart. Were you able to get it settled down? I knew that ablation was too good to be true. It's just that he seemed to be doing so well."

"Ah." The doctor's face cleared as he suddenly understood what Jim was talking about. "Mr. Ellison, there is nothing wrong with Mr. Sandburg's heart. He is resting comfortably upstairs in room 223. We did have to give him a blood transfusion, and he will be on intravenous antibiotics for a while, but he should make a complete recovery."

"But his heart!" Jim protested. "I h.." He stopped suddenly, appalled at what he had almost said. Normal people didn't hear other people's heart beats. "I . . uh . . felt it before they took him away, and it was really fast, just like before."

Hernandez nodded, his face clouding angrily. "Yes, well, that was because he is apparently terrified of heights. The medical team that brought him in here is going to be severely reprimanded for bringing him in like that. He was in no immediate danger. They should have lifted him all the way into the helicopter, or at the very least sent a medic strapped onto the stretcher with him. When he got here, he was hysterical. We had to sedate him." He shook his head in disgust. "I don't know what they teach those young medics in school these days. Once the sedative had him calmed down and he realized he was safe, his heart rate stabilized. He'll be fine."

Ellison listened to the doctor silently, a sick feeling taking over his being. After all that Blair had been through in the past two days, he and Simon had laughed at the hardest trial of all that the younger man had been forced to endure. He wondered how they would ever be able to make it up to him. Glancing over at Simon, he noticed the same shocked look on the captain's face and knew that Simon was thinking the same thing.

"Thank you, Doctor Hernandez. Can we see him now?"

Hernandez nodded. "Of course. Stay as long as you like. I am sure that some familiar faces will help."

Jim shook hands with the doctor and followed Simon to the elevator. Inside, the two men leaned against the wall. "Simon, we laughed!"

Simon nodded soberly. "I know, Jim. I had no idea that his fear was that bad. It never even occurred to me that his heart speeding up was because of the helicopter."

"Yeah, me either." Jim sighed. "Well, at least his heart is really okay! I really thought he was having a relapse."

The elevator doors opened and the two men stepped out and headed down the hall to find room 223. Blair was the only occupant in the two bed room, sleeping peacefully in the bed by the window. Jim walked quietly to the chair beside his bed and sat down. He would not be leaving any time soon. Blair might need reassurance, and Jim intended to be there in case he was needed. He vaguely noticed Simon pulling the other chair up to the other side of the bed, and the two men began a silent vigil, determined to make it up to their battered friend in the bed.

_**TBC . . .**_

_**There will only be one short chapter left of this monster, and I hope that you have enjoyed the ride as much as I have! I hope to have it posted later tonight or tomorrow. Thank you so much for all of the wonderful feedback and encouragement you have given me! You are all wonderful!**_


	17. Chapter 17

**_A/N - Here is the final chapter - 9 months after I started posting here, and 5 years after I originally came up with the idea and started writing it. It feels like the end of an era! But hopefully there will be many more to come!_**

**_This chapter has no spoilers_**

Blair sat slumped at his desk in his office at Rainier, painstakingly grading papers. He removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes wearily, shrugging his shoulders in an attempt to relieve the sore muscles there. Another month had passed since his eventful two days in the wilderness. He had spent a few days in the hospital, recovering from the injuries he had sustained, and then he had spent another week at home recovering before his self appointed body guard had allowed him to leave the loft long enough to go to work. He had been taking it as easy as possible since then, and now he was nearly completely healed.

This was a very good thing, because the semester was rapidly nearing an end, and he had a lot of work to make up. Several of his fellow TAs had taken turns filling in for him as guest lecturers, but he could hardly ask them to also grade all the term papers and final exams. He had been sitting here for more than three hours, wading through the accumulated papers on his desk.

A knock at the door interrupted his thoughts, and he gratefully lifted his head. "Come in!"

The door opened, and Angie Lorenzo poked her head into the room. "How's it going, Blair? Is there anything I can do to help you?"

"You've been a huge help already!" Blair protested. Angie had been one of his most frequent guest lecturers. Although she was not in the Anthropology department, she had minored in the subject and had more than a passing knowledge of what went on in Blair's classes.

The brunette grinned at him, easing the rest of herself into the room. "Come on, Blair. You would have done the same for me, right?" She perched happily on the chair across from Blair's desk. "I just worry, with all you've been through. How are you feeling?"

Sandburg grinned back. "Oh, I'm great. Just a few sore muscles in my neck, that's all. I've been crouched over my desk for so long, I just need to get up and stretch."

Angie perked up. "Or I could give you a neck massa . . " She trailed off uncertainly, obviously remembering what had happened the last time she gave Blair a neck massage.

Blair was hesitant, too, but he took a deep breath and smiled. "They tell me I'm cured. Massage away! It shouldn't hurt anything."

"Are you sure?" Angie rose slowly, still tentative about her next course of action.

Blair nodded, forcing a smile gamely. "Go for it."

*****

"Ellison!"

Jim's head came up sharply at Simon's roar. He stood and walked briskly into the captain's office. "Sir?"

"Where's Sandburg? I thought you said he was coming in this afternoon. It's almost five o'clock."

Ellison was startled to realize that he had lost track of time. Blair should have been here several hours ago. "I don't know! I'll call him. He should have been here long ago." He headed back toward his desk but stopped when he heard Blair's distinctive heart beat coming from the elevator. "Never mind. He just got here."

Both men headed toward the elevator, watching curiously as Blair stepped out and hurried toward them. "Sorry I'm late, guys!"

"What happened?" Ellison noticed that Blair's heart rate was slightly elevated, and his face seemed a bit flushed.

Blair's face reddened even more. "Well, you remember Angie?" When both men nodded, he continued his story. "She came in to see if she could help me with anything, and my neck was sore . . . "

Jim groaned. "So she offered to give you a massage. Blair, didn't you remember what happened the last time she did that? You ended up in the ER!"

"Yeah, I know." Blair looked at the floor. "But I'm supposed to be cured, so I told her to go ahead."

"And?" Simon prompted. "Did the same thing happen again? How are you feeling?"

Blair grinned sheepishly. "Actually, I feel great. She gave me a neck massage and I even let her put a hot towel on my neck like that other time. She stayed with me to make sure I was okay, we got to talking, and well . . ."

Jim laughed out loud. "You ended up on a date," he guessed.

Blair smirked. "Yeah, we did. We ended up at the coffee shop on campus, and I completely lost track of time. We're going to meet for dinner tomorrow night."

Simon shook his head incredulously. "Well, it was nice of you to join us, Sandburg. Do you think you could spare some time from your busy social life to do a little work now?"

Blair blushed harder. "Oh . . . uh . . . sure, Simon. Sorry." He hurried over to Jim's desk and sat down, immediately getting busy with the reports there.

Simon chuckled once he was sure Blair was no longer paying attention. "I guess the kid's back, Jim."

Ellison's grin nearly split his face. "Yeah, I guess he is. That's the best news I've had in a long time." Still grinning, he headed over to his desk to join his now healthy partner.

Simon watched the two together for a moment, and then headed back to his office, satisfied that the Sentinel of the City and his Guide were finally back to full strength.

**_Finis_**

**_Thanks so much for sticking with me throughout this story, even when it got away from me and got much bigger than I had ever planned! Your reviews have kept me motivated, even when I got hung up with RL and some writer's block. You are wonderful! _**


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